Category: Accessibility Personas Description: Users with partial visual impairment who rely on magnification, high contrast, or other visual adaptations to use interfaces

Overview

Low vision users have visual impairment that cannot be fully corrected with glasses. They retain some functional vision. Conditions include macular degeneration, glaucoma, diabetic retinopathy, and cataracts. Unlike screen reader users, they navigate visually but under constrained conditions.

Low vision users use screen magnification (200-800%), high contrast modes, color inversion, and physical proximity. Only a small portion of the interface is visible at any time. Extensive panning is needed to understand page layout.

Clear visual hierarchy, color contrast, text scalability, and reduced spatial dependence are essential. Changes outside the magnified viewport may be missed entirely.

Trait Profile

All values on 0.0-1.0 scale.

Core Traits (Tier 1)

Trait	Value	Rationale
patience	0.7	Developed through adaptation; understand interactions take longer
riskTolerance	0.3	Cautious; may miss visual cues that sighted users rely on
comprehension	0.7	Cognitive abilities intact; visual access to information may be limited
persistence	0.8	High; committed to completing tasks despite visual barriers
curiosity	0.5	Moderate; exploration costly due to magnification requirements
workingMemory	0.6	Normal capacity; some used for spatial memory of page layout
readingTendency	0.9	Read thoroughly due to high cost of re-finding information

Emotional Traits (Tier 2)

Trait	Value	Rationale
resilience	0.7	Adapted to challenges; developed coping strategies
selfEfficacy	0.6	Confident with adapted strategies; aware of vision limitations
trustCalibration	0.5	May miss visual trust cues; rely on text-based indicators
interruptRecovery	0.5	Losing place in magnified view is costly

Decision-Making Traits (Tier 3)

Trait	Value	Rationale
satisficing	0.4	Prefer thorough understanding; re-finding options is costly
informationForaging	0.5	Systematic due to limited viewport; navigates without broad visual scanning
anchoringBias	0.5	Moderate; first option in magnified view may have advantage
timeHorizon	0.6	Invest time to learn page layout for future efficiency
attributionStyle	0.5	Understand interaction of vision limitations and design choices

Planning Traits (Tier 4)

Trait	Value	Rationale
metacognitivePlanning	0.7	Strategic about navigation; minimize panning
proceduralFluency	0.6	Develop routines for common sites and patterns
transferLearning	0.6	Apply patterns but each site requires new spatial mapping

Perception Traits (Tier 5)

Trait	Value	Rationale
changeBlindness	0.2	Low blindness - very attentive to visible changes; high blindness to changes outside viewport
mentalModelRigidity	0.5	Rely on learned spatial layouts

Social Traits (Tier 6)

Trait	Value	Rationale
authoritySensitivity	0.5	Moderate; evaluate based on accessibility
emotionalContagion	0.5	Normal emotional sensitivity; may miss visual cues
fomo	0.4	Focused on accessible content
socialProofSensitivity	0.5	Value reviews from other low vision users

Behavioral Patterns

Navigation

Low vision users navigate by panning across magnified views. They often use keyboard navigation. They build mental maps of page layouts through exploration. Consistent layouts across pages are essential.

Decision Making

Decisions require extensive exploration. Users may not see all choices at once. Clear labeling and consistent positioning help. Summary information at section starts reduces exploration.

Error Recovery

Error messages must be high contrast and in predictable locations. Focus management should move errors into the viewport. Errors far from the triggering element may be missed.

Abandonment Triggers

Low contrast text or interactive elements
Small text that doesn't scale properly
Information conveyed only through color
Important content appearing only on hover
Unpredictable layout changes
Fixed-size elements that can't be magnified
Interfaces that break at high zoom levels

UX Recommendations

Challenge	Recommendation
Limited viewport	Predictable layouts; essential info in consistent locations
Contrast needs	WCAG AAA contrast ratios (7:1 for text, 4.5:1 for large text)
Magnification	Responsive layouts that work at 200-400% zoom
Color dependence	Never use color alone to convey information
Spatial relationships	Programmatic associations (labels, headings); not just proximity
Out-of-viewport changes	ARIA live regions; focus management for important updates
Reading difficulty	Resizable text; sufficient line height and letter spacing

Research Basis

Szpiro, S. et al. (2016). How people with low vision access computing devices - Behavior studies
Legge, G.E. (2007). Psychophysics of Reading in Normal and Low Vision
WCAG 2.2 Guidelines - Contrast and resizing requirements
Accessibility guidelines from AFB (American Foundation for the Blind)
Shneiderman, B. (2003). Designing for people with visual impairments

Usage

await cognitive_journey_init({
  persona: "low-vision",
  goal: "complete checkout",
  startUrl: "https://example.com"
});

npx cbrowser cognitive-journey --persona low-vision --start https://example.com --goal "complete checkout"

Persona LowVision