about
It all started when Maria Carvalhosa, age 19, noticed the lack of audiobooks in Portuguese, especially for those who love literature but are unable to read printed or e-books. This is Maria’s case. She lost her eyesight at the age of 13, but never gave up her passion for reading, having to resort to assistive tools or audiobooks that were mostly produced in a bureaucratic way. She wrote an article about this situation and it reached Daniela Thomas, a lover of audiobooks, which have kept her connected to the English language since her return to Brazil after nearly ten years abroad. The friends decided to take the risk of creating a Brazilian audiobook publishing house, an idea that was instantly embraced by author and publisher Beatriz Bracher and producer Mariana Beltrão. Following two years of research and hard work, Supersônica Livros has finally come to life with a website that is fully accessible for the visually impaired and appealing for those who are not.
Our proposal is ambitious: we want to provide access to books that fascinate us and that we consider indispensable for contemporary readers. We treat classics as contemporary and vice versa, taking chances and making discoveries. To read these books, we have chosen actors who take on the experience of reading in a studio with the same dedication with which they make films or plays. Each of our audiobooks is a complete artistic project, worked on with the same rigor.
Maria Carvalhosa synthesizes the publisher’s vision: “At Supersônica, we believe that literature is at once an experience of discovery and hallucination. It allows us to be in other places, to inhabit other minds, to imagine other worlds. We all create images from reading books without actually seeing them. Listening to a book is opening yourself up to a new, wonderful and radical form of reading. The voice of the narrator becomes part of the text. Other parts of the book light up in this intimate and unstable connection between two readers: the one who speaks and the one who listens. Audiobooks are an experience of generosity and attention”.
Supersônica – A book inside your head.
our team
- Beatriz Bracher - editor
- Daniela Thomas - artistic director
- Maria Carvalhosa - editor
- Mariana Beltrão - executive director
accessibility
At Supersônica, we are committed to providing an accessible experience for people with disabilities. We recognize the importance of ensuring that our website is fully inclusive and adapted to the needs of these users. To ensure that we meet international accessibility standards we work closely with experts to implement features and functionalities that make the browsing experience accessible and enriching for people with low vision and the blind.
At Supersônica, we believe that literature should be accessible to everyone, regardless of their visual abilities. We are committed to providing a comprehensive and enriching reading experience for all people, and we hope that our website will be an accessible source of knowledge and entertainment for all our users.
Measures to support accessibility
Our team has strived to adopt integrative design practices from the very beginning of our portal development process. We prioritize the use of assistive technologies, such as screen readers, which allow our visually impaired users to fully access and enjoy Supersônica’s content.
In addition, we provide detailed descriptions for the images that illustrate the book covers, allowing users to understand the context and importance of these images. We also ensure adequate contrast between the colors used on the site, making it easier to read for people with reduced vision.
Compliance status
The Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) define requirements for designers and developers to improve accessibility for people with disabilities, through three levels of compliance: Level A, Level AA and Level AAA.
Non-conformities are dealt with in the attached technical report
Our audiobooks are made available with high-quality audio, so that our users can enjoy an immersive reading experience. In addition, audiobooks are offered on platforms with intuitive navigation features, such as chapter markers and adjustable playback speed options, to make the listening experience even more personalized.
Contact us
We are constantly working to further improve accessibility to our website and audiobooks. We value feedback from our users and encourage you to contact us if you encounter any difficulties with access or have suggestions for improvement.
email: acessibilidade@supersonicalivros.com.br
We will respond to your comments as soon as possible.
Compatibility with assistive technology
The Supersônica portal has been tested and is compatible and accessible with the following screen readers, in the following operating systems:
– Jaws 17 or higher and NVDA 2023
with Google Chrome and Windows 7 or higher;
– Voice Over
on Mac Os HighSierra or higher;
– VoiceOver
with IOS 15 or higher;
– TalkBack
with Android 11 or higher.
Approach to implementing and evaluating accessibility
The implementation of accessibility on the Supersônica portal began during the design and prototype phase of the site, when the color palette was evaluated, defining satisfactory contrast and the correct semantics and hierarchy of the HTML elements before the first line of code was written.
During the development phase, various evaluations were carried out with experts:
Automated validation, Manual code reviews, and Human evaluations.
The problems encountered were discussed in meetings. After implementing the solutions, new tests were carried out.
July 2023.
Welcome!