bloom: Debbie Gijsbrechts
Since 2017 Debbie Gijsbrechts working as an accessibility expert & UX architect at the Antwerp-based company Humix. Since childhood she has had a passion for technology and over the years a passion for the human aspect was added. In the UX/UI design agency, which is part of De Cronos Groep, Debbie gets the chance to combine her interests. "I find it fascinating that in my job both the technical angle and user needs are often addressed, because both appeal to me a lot. My interests flow nicely together in my work. The nice thing about what I do is that I can support and help people. Not only people with disabilities as we often know them, but actually everyone", he says.
'The little lawyer': this is what family and friends used to laughingly call Debbie, because she is very sensitive to injustice and often stands up for others. After her humanities degree, however, she did not choose to study law. "I have always been interested in anything technical. As a child, I played for hours on the Gameboy and I also took up my dad's old Sega."
"Today, by the way, I am still an avid gamer. Because I was afraid I wouldn't be able to help many people as a lawyer and would therefore be left hungry, I opted for a technical education," Debbie clarified her choice to study computer science at UHasselt in 2009.
Human interest
Debbie recalls being one of the few female students in her program at the time. "I notice that fortunately the tide is turning now, and there are gradually more female students," she says. As a major, she chose Human Computer Interaction. "This dovetailed well with my strong human interest. I really felt in place in that direction, with a strong focus on user experience," she says.
At a job fair, she came into contact with the Xplore Group, of which Humix is part. This Antwerp-based company aims to bring UX design and usability closer to the development of digital products, in order to provide the best user experience. "For me this was a revelation, because at that time I didn't really know that there existed companies that focus entirely on user experience," she says about getting to know her future employer.
One thing led to another and in 2017 Debbie joined Humix. There, as an Accessibility expert & UX architect, she can combine her technical and human interests. Moreover, she also gets the chance to use one of her other passions: accessibility. "Taking accessibility into account means designing more inclusively. That way, the user experience will be more enjoyable for everyone."
"Taking accessibility into account means designing more inclusively."
"Not only people with disabilities as we often know them - think of the blind, visually impaired or people with motor disabilities - can benefit from more accessibility, but actually everyone. Thus, audio description is also interesting if, for example, you are ironing or cooking and cannot look at the screen at the same time. In that case, increased contrast levels are useful for those walking in the sun with a smartphone, and large buttons come in handy when you need to fill in things while walking," she explains.
Meaning something
There is also a personal side to Debbie's interest in accessibility, she adds. "My father-in-law is going blind and my godson has cerebral palsy (posture and movement disorder caused by brain damage, nvdr). For people like them, accessibility to products is crucial."
"It gives me great satisfaction that I can still support people who are often let down by our society with accessible digital products, as well as improve the experience for everyone else," it sounds.
"My goal is to gather as many insights as possible," Debbie explains. "I want to understand as much as possible what people want to achieve and what they expect, and use this to improve user experience and accessibility. I consider my strong empathy a great asset in this regard."
"By linking my findings to the expectations of the business, we arrive at an interface that meets the needs of all stakeholders. I find it fascinating that in my job both the technical angle and user needs are often addressed. My interests flow nicely together," she says.
Critical view
More and more companies are paying attention to the accessibility of their interfaces. As an accessibility specialist, Debbie obviously sees this as a positive evolution: "Many organizations see the importance of accessibility, and often notice in their numbers the effect a good user experience can have."
The retail e-commerce sector is already the furthest along in UX, while other sectors such as banks, utilities and government are catching up. The project Debbie is currently doing for VRT is a good example.
"I support the VRT staff in everything related to digital accessibility. This can be very broad: from the design on the various websites to the content offered on social media, among other things. I give training to the in-house developers and designers at VRT to share my knowledge and make them aware of the need for accessibility as well as its many benefits."
"This is how I help them improve channel accessibility and take the overall customer experience to the next level," says Debbie, who works with a multidisciplinary team of UX-ers, UI-ers, editors and developers to do this. "I really enjoy working with my colleagues; we are a close-knit team. We support each other. I would like to pass on my knowledge about accessibility to them, because I notice that not everyone is equally knowledgeable."
For Humix' customers and end users, Debbie wants to keep looking for the best solution, while challenging them at the right moments to improve the end result even more. This critical and open view is strongly encouraged by the management of Humix.
"Do you have a problem or concern, or would you like to develop further in a particular theme or sub-area? Then it is always possible to discuss this with Lonneke Spinhof, UX strategist and managing partner of Humix. She encourages us to experiment and to stay curious. It's nice to know that there are so many possibilities in this company. You are really listened to here and then something is effectively done with it."
Source of inspiration
Debbie doesn't really consider herself a role model for other girls and women in IT. "But if I can inspire people through what I do and the path I've already taken, then gladly," she indicates. Karen Coninx, her computer science prof at UHasselt, was a great inspiration to herself at the time.
"She made me realize that women do have their place in IT," she recalls. "So if I can also show, in my own way, that IT is an exciting and challenging world for everyone, I certainly won't say no to that. Besides the technical aspect, there is also a lot of room in our sector for the human side, which also really appeals to me. For me, this is the ideal combination of my interests, which I can fully use and further develop here."
