Cocomix: Utilizing Comments to Improve Non-Visual Webtoon Accessibility

Abstract

Webtoon is a type of digital comics read online where readers can leave comments to share their thoughts on the story. While it has experienced a surge in popularity internationally, people with visual impairments cannot enjoy webtoon with the lack of an accessible format. While traditional image description practices can be adopted, resulting descriptions cannot preserve webtoons' unique values such as control over the reading pace and social engagement through comments. To improve the webtoon reading experience for BLV users, we propose Cocomix, an interactive webtoon reader that leverages comments into the design of novel webtoon interactions. Since comments can identify story highlights and provide additional context, we designed a system that provides 1) comments-based adaptive descriptions with selective access to details and 2) panel-anchored comments for easy access to relevant descriptive comments. Our evaluation (N=12) showed that Cocomix users could adapt the description for various needs and better utilize comments.