I have low vision and primarily access information visually, using strategies like large print, high contrast, and other accessibility tools and settings to make content easier to me to see. Even though I can use my eyes to look at images or videos, I don’t always know what I am looking at or what to do with this information, or I assume it is one thing when it is really something else. Strategies like zooming in, changing the colors of an image, or positioning a screen close to my face can be helpful, but isn’t always enough.
One strategy that has really helped me with accessing visual content is the use of media descriptions, which in this case is an umbrella term inclusive of alt text, image descriptions, video descriptions, and audio descriptions— all of which are used to provide nonvisual access to visual information. The purposes of these tools are often misunderstood because they aren’t as prominent as other accessibility tools like captioning, or they are viewed as something that only a small population would benefit from. Here is a list of reasons why people with visual impairments use media descriptions for image and video content, and how media descriptions can enhance low-visual accessibility and nonvisual accessibility.
Background: What is audio description? What is video description?
Audio description, sometimes referred to as descriptive audio or described video, is an additional narration track designed with nonvisual access in mind, providing details for all key visual elements of a video so that audiences with visual impairments (inclusive of blind/low vision) can fully participate and engage with content. Audio description is delivered during natural pauses in dialogue or music and can help viewers better understand what is going on. Most audio description content posted online is “open”, meaning that it does not require any special equipment or headphones to listen to the additional description track.
In this context, video descriptions provide a text-based description of visual elements in a video, acting as a transcript or summary that the viewer can read either with large print, a screen reader, or a braille display. The viewer may use the text-based description to provide additional context for what they are watching or to help fill in blanks after watching a video, ultimately answering the question “what did I just watch?” Video descriptions can also be a helpful tool for making videos easier to discover on social media or with search engine optimization.
The primary difference between audio description and video descriptions in this context is that audio descriptions describe everything going on except for what is communicated by sound or verbal description; the focus is on what isn’t being said or heard. For video descriptions, the audio may be mentioned when it comes to describing song choice or writing a transcript of spoken content, but the primary focus is still on describing visual elements of the video.
Related links
- Fast Facts About Audio Description
- 8 Myths About Audio Description
- Writing Media Descriptions For Current Events: My Talk At Protest Access-A-Thon
- How To Write Video Descriptions For TikTok
- Creating Audio Description For Recipe Videos
- How To Describe Dance Choreography Videos For Visually Impaired
Background: What is alt text? What is image description?
Alternative text (alt text) and image descriptions are text-based descriptions of visual details in an image written primarily for people who are visually impaired (inclusive of blind, low vision, and neurological visual impairment). For people with visual impairments that use assistive technology such as screen readers and braille displays, the alt text is displayed in lieu of the image so that the user can get information about what is in an image (blank alt text may just say “image”, providing no contextual information).
If an image fails to load on a website, alt text will be displayed in its place, and alt text is also used for search engine optimization and image search tools— alt text is otherwise invisible to users who do not use assistive technology when they are accessing an image.
Image descriptions are similar to alt text descriptions that are used by screen readers to recognize images, but they are “exposed” as a caption or as accompanying text to an image so that anyone can read them, including people who use assistive technology. Image descriptions are often longer than alt text but still focus on providing descriptions of visual content, similar to a text-based video description.
Related links
- How To Write Alt Text and Image Descriptions for the Visually Impaired
- Seven Myths and Misconceptions About Alt Text
- My Ideas For Improving Alt Text Features On Social Media
Media descriptions provide context
Reading or listening to a media description often “sets the stage” for understanding visual media, and can help viewers understand why a particular type of visual content is important, relevant, or interesting. A graph that is just labeled “graph” isn’t particularly meaningful and implies that the image is more or less for decorative purposes or that the viewer doesn’t need to know what is actually in the image— the same goes for a video that mentions an object being “over there.”
This is incredibly frustrating when the image in question is used to provide additional context for the text content or is being used to illustrate a concept or to answer a question, since the information needed to understand what is happening is missing or unavailable.
Related links
- Adapting Accessible Charts: Math Problems and Low Vision
- How To Write Alt Text For Digital Comics
- How To Create Accessible Pie Charts For Low Vision
- How To Make Accessible ASCII Art and Emoji Memes
- Recording Video Lectures For Visually Impaired Students
Media descriptions provide tools for the creation of a mental image
High-quality media descriptions are written with the goal of providing information about essential characteristics (salient features) of an image so that someone could understand what is in an image without ever having to look at it. Within the educational context, media descriptions play a key role in helping individuals to form mental models of items, and can be used alongside alternative media like high-contrast images, tactile models/tactile graphics, sonification, movement, and other formats to form an understanding of what is in an image.
In many cases, media descriptions alert me to things that I might not have otherwise noticed if I was just looking at something visually, or they help me understand how multiple visual components fit together to form the image I am looking at.
Related links
- How To Write Alt Text For Amateur Art
- How To Describe Science Experiments For Visually Impaired Students
- How To Describe Primary Source Videos For Visually Impaired Audiences
- Meet The Cast: Supporting Literacy For Students With CVI
Media descriptions provide clarification
Whenever I look at any type of visual content, I often ask myself two questions, and keep asking them until I am confident that the answer to the second question is yes:
- What am I looking at?
- Does that make sense?
To give an example, my friend and I were on a walk when I noticed what looked like a giant rabbit costume on another part of the sidewalk. It didn’t make sense for someone to be dressed like that in the middle of our college campus, so I kept looping the question about what I was looking at in my head, trying to come up with a more reasonable answer— is it a statue? A sign? A stuffed animal? A really big dog? An interesting hat and jacket combo? I kept looking at the item hoping it would become clearer and I could figure out what it actually was.
My friend noticed I was fixated on looking at this item, laughed, and then said “I know what you’re thinking— yes, that is someone dressed as a rabbit.”
When I’m looking at images or videos, media descriptions can provide clarification or reassurance that I have identified something correctly, especially if it’s something that is unexpected or doesn’t “fit in” with other visual information. Instead of spending time trying to figure out if I was looking at a person in a rabbit suit or not, a media description helps to minimize this guessing game by letting me know what is in an image so I can focus on other characteristics or follow along with a storyline.
For the record, just knowing something is an image or a photo isn’t necessarily helpful— I would have still been confused if my friend told me that the thing I was looking at was just an object because that didn’t tell me what I needed (or wanted) to know.
Related links
- How To Write Video Descriptions For Animal Videos
- Streaming Audio Description For Performing Arts Videos
- How To Write Video Descriptions For TikTok
- How To Create Audio Description For YouTube With YouDescribe
- Lemon On A Pear: Accessible Memes For Low Vision
Media descriptions provide a companion for accessing information
Just like how I used my friend to help me figure out what I was looking at during our walk, media descriptions can also be used as a companion that can help users identify what is in an image. Similar to a map with areas of interest or a guide to exploring a particular area, media descriptions are useful for understanding an image or visual content. Some examples of questions that can be answered by media descriptions include:
- What are the key features that someone should look for in an image, at least from the perspective of the person writing the description?
- What characteristic(s) should someone notice as they explore an image or video further?
- If there is text, what does it say?
- What should someone know about this image or other visual content, and how does it connect to other information (e.g. accompanying text, other scenes/images)
These are all questions that I might ask an actual person when getting a description of something, and having this included in a media description makes it easier for me to access information independently. Some find it helpful to imagine giving media descriptions as if they were on a phone call describing an image to a friend, while others find it helpful to imagine they are describing an item on a podcast where the listener can’t ask clarifying questions.
Another way that media descriptions can serve as a companion is by indicating whether content includes strobe lights, flickering lights, flashing lights, or fast-moving animations, which can be disorienting and aggravate my brain condition. Depending on the type of content, I can either read the media description in lieu of viewing the content visually, or close my eyes during a video and listen to the description instead.
Related links
- Creating Audio Narrated Images For Low Vision
- All About Visual Assistance Apps For Visually Impaired
- How To Write Alt Text For Digital Comics
- How To Write Alt Text For Gifs
- How To Access Images Without Alt Text
- Avoiding Flashing Lights On Social Media
- How I Watch Concert Videos Without Strobe Lights
- How To Check Videos For Flashing Lights
Media descriptions provide customization
Media descriptions provide options for customizing how someone accesses visual content by ensuring they aren’t limited to just accessing it visually. Tools like screen readers and braille displays will read text-based descriptions in lieu of displaying images, and audio description for video content can be used to provide options for listening to content without having to look at it, which can be helpful for people with light sensitivity.
There are also options for customizing media descriptions entirely to fit the needs of the user. An example of emerging technology within the area of media descriptions is scene description tools that use image-understanding and/or video-understanding to describe what is in an image or video and answer questions about it. These tools can be used alongside existing media descriptions to answer questions or provide even more detailed descriptions, which can help users get a better understanding of what is in an image or to locate areas of interest.
Some examples of tools that provide access to customization for visual descriptions and answering questions about visual content include:
- Google Lens
- Microsoft Seeing AI, especially the image recognition feature
- Envision AI
- Be My Eyes (Be My AI/ChatGPT)
- Described and Captioned Media Program scene description tool
While this tool does not answer questions about what is in an image, the JAWS screen reader also has a Picture Smart AI tool that can be used to generate both short descriptions and longer detailed descriptions of visual content.
Related links
- How I Use Google Lens With Low Vision
- Recognizing Images With Seeing AI
- Using The Envision App With Low Vision
- How I Use Be My Eyes With Low Vision
- DCMP: Free Audio Described Videos For Classrooms
More resources on the purposes of media descriptions for audiences with visual impairments
- Not all media descriptions are designed to be strictly informative— they can also be used for entertainment or humor purposes. I gave a flash talk about creating media descriptions for memes that’s linked at Lemon On A Pear: Accessible Memes For Low Vision
- Wondering how to describe what someone looks like? I share a few tips in How To Create Helpful Visual Descriptions For Visually Impaired Audiences
- Looking for a guide to writing alt text? Check out How To Write Alt Text and Image Descriptions for the Visually Impaired
- Want to learn more about media descriptions and how to write them? Browse the Media Accessibility categories on post categories
Published February 26, 2025. Updated March 2025