A free open-source tool for increasing cross-disability accessibility of computers

Raising the Floor in Washington, D.C., launched Morphic in 2021, an open-source program streamlining access to computer accessibility features. By 2022, it had over a quarter million uses on public-use computers.

Raising the Floor, a digital accessibility-focused NGO based in Washington, D.C., initiated Morphic in 2021. Morphic is an open-source programme that provides computer users with easy access to built-in accessibility features and allows them to save preferences and apply them to other computers. This reduces time spent finding accessibility features and eliminates navigating complex interfaces to access them. All versions, personal and enterprise, are free. To date, Morphic has been installed on over 10,000 computers in schools and libraries.

Problems Targeted

Many people, including people with disabilities, older adults, and people with low digital affinity, have difficulty or are unable to use computers without adaptation.

Solution, Innovation and Impact

Morphic is designed to support individuals with disabilities who rely on assistive technology for computer access, especially those from under-resourced areas who might not have personal computers and depend on shared ones in schools, libraries, or community centres. Morphic offers various features that make computers easier to use for those who struggle to use them by making built-in accessibility features readily available with a single click. Morphic offers standard and customizable MorphicBars tailored to individual needs, ensuring ease of use without stigmatizing users with non-visible disabilities. It allows for the creation of an simple interface for those who face extreme difficulty in using computers through the creation of tailor-made MorphicBars that provide simple, always visible, and easy access to just the essential functions these users need. Morphic works with all software on a computer and makes it easy for organizations, even those with no special resources, to make all their computers more accessible and usable by people who struggle to use them. Morphic is secure, private, open-source, and runs on Windows and Macintosh operating systems and is free to users and organizations. As of 2022 it had over a quarter million uses on public-use computers.

Funding, Outlook and Transferability

Morphic receives grants and gifts to fund its operation, including long-term support through community funding. Morphic is provided at no cost to all individuals and organizations to maximize its deployment and ensure availability to low-resource communities. It is designed so that costs remain almost flat when user numbers grow. In 2024, Morphic will have a new free feature – AT-on-Demand – enabling users to have their personal assistive technologies show up on any computer they may use at libraries, schools, community centres, job centres, etc. and will then disappear when they are done. (Awardee 2024)

Pictures

Morphic provides computer users with easy access to built-in accessibility features.

Morphic provides computer users with easy access to built-in accessibility features.

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