ClearView – HCI accessibility browser concept for reducing visual clutter and improving readability

ClearView: A Browser-Based Accessibility Tool for Reducing Visual Clutter and Cognitive Overload

Modern websites are optimized for engagement, not clarity. Sidebars, autoplay media, low-contrast text, and competing visual hierarchies create interfaces that are technically functional but cognitively expensive. For users experiencing visual strain, colour confusion, dyslexia, or age-related cognitive decline, this cost becomes prohibitive — everyday browsing becomes tiring, disorienting, and exclusionary.

ClearView is a lightweight browser accessibility concept designed to address this gap. The tool targets users who can technically navigate the web but are slowed or overwhelmed by poor visual hierarchy, excessive stimulation, and inadequate contrast. Rather than replacing existing interfaces, ClearView adapts them at the point of need through three focused interventions: contrast and colour adjustment, clutter reduction, and a focused reading mode. These features are grounded in established HCI principles. Nielsen's heuristic of aesthetic and minimalist design holds that interfaces should contain only relevant information — ClearView's clutter reduction mode operationalizes this directly. Wickens' Multiple Resource Theory suggests that cognitive load increases when competing visual stimuli draw on the same perceptual channel simultaneously; ClearView reduces this collision by suppressing nonessential elements and foregrounding primary content. Schneiderman's principle of universal usability frames accessibility not as an edge case but as a design standard — the animating ethical premise of the project.

The prototype demonstrates a before-and-after transformation of a dense webpage. In the adapted state, sidebars and autoplay media are hidden, contrast is elevated to WCAG-compliant levels, and typography is adjusted for improved reading flow. The result is a calmer, more navigable interface that preserves content while reducing perceptual load. Future development would involve user interviews with target populations, usability testing across multiple site types, and iterative refinement of the adaptation logic. The goal is a tool that is fast, unobtrusive, and easy to toggle — one that fits into existing workflows rather than demanding new ones.