Communicating the Importance of Accessibility
An illustration used to determine how designers have empathy towards users throughout their creative process. Jon Metz.
In between my junior and senior years of college, I was excited to enter into my first design internship. Week one was filled with many firsts: the first days of dressing professionally, the first corporate meetings, the first lunch with coworkers, the first time I realized no one is actually comfortable wearing high heels to work, and the first time someone looked at my work and said: “that doesn’t look accessible.”
I had no idea what they were talking about.
Now, this could be a statement on the failings of design schools in America, or maybe I simply didn’t listen. What I did learn that day was that there was this thing “accessibility” that shaped what I designed. It shaped my constraints, my considerations, my motives, my markers for success. I desperately wanted to know more.
Six years later, and I would barely consider myself an expert. I’m just a young designer desperately trying to communicate the importance of accessibility to people that just don’t care. I want to help you do the same, too.
Cultivate a culture of empathy towards all potential users.
Underlying the technical content, design, and development principles of web accessibility requires an empathetic understanding of all potential users. The need for accessible interfaces can affect anyone: one person may require technical accommodations for a particular season of life, while others may indefinitely rely upon it.
Web accessibility, therefore, is for all people, regardless of their current capabilities. Suppose each designer or developer creates products with only their own experiences in mind. In that case, countless diverse users are excluded from consideration. Approaching the web design process with empathy for the ever-changing spectrum of ability is essential for creating a successful product.
Understand that your perspective is unique. Therefore, you cannot design or develop on behalf of all demographics through your lens alone.
Become intimately familiar with accessibility language via books, articles, experts, and users to broaden your understanding and provide varying perspectives.
Be intentional with engaging users outside prevalent demographics; seek out people in marginalized and neglected demographics, typically left out of traditional personas.
Tim Allen, former director of Inclusive Design at Microsoft speaks at a conference in Raleigh, North Carolina about how Microsoft approaches digital accessibility. Photo by High5Conf.
Acknowledge that accessibility is a process
Building accessible web products is an extensive and continuous process. Due to the evolving nature of web accessibility, designers and developers are guaranteed to fumble.
Audiences not initially considered will emerge and expect adaptations and further accommodations. Throughout the web product process, designers and developers need to continue testing and continue learning, changing the product as required. There is no such thing as the finish line.
Leave perfectionism at the door: You will not get your web product fully accessible the first time, second, or the third. As previously mentioned, web accessibility is a process to endure, not a box to be checked. Continue to empathize with your users and work towards a more holistic, accessible approach.
Keep up with changing laws and best practices, evolving your site and processes as needed. Subscribe to email digests, read relevant blogs, and befriend accessibility thought leaders to keep your knowledge relevant and up-to-date.
Test products with users that are different than you.
Understanding the collection of personas behind the screen creates a genuine and authentic design experience. In her study regarding the web accessibility impact on the intellectually disabled community, Jenice Daigle Heck concluded that conducting user tests with varying and diverse users produces an overall better website with more streamlined interaction and superior design. Since this study, many others have begun to follow suit, such as Microsoft’s Inclusive Design Toolkit. Therefore, testing products with a variety of diverse users is critical to the success of web accessibility.
Put people at the center of your design process. Designing for an elusive group of people will result in designing and building products for yourself. Allowing diverse perspectives to aid in driving the design process will lead to better design solutions.
Establish ongoing relationships with people vastly different than yourself, allowing diverse perspectives to critique and adapt your web products with the intent of generating widely accessible solutions.
Person utilizing braille keyboard. Photo by Sigmund.
Prioritize accessibility from the start.
Designing accessible interfaces can provide additional benefits to a web product, such as enhanced search engine optimization rank and a more consistent user experience. Designers and developers should prioritize accessibility throughout every stage of the product design process to optimize all potential benefits. Additionally, creating inclusive web interactions from the outset can save both time and money than retrofitting at a later date.
Reframing the conversation of accessibility as first and foremost, an underlying principle of user experience design will culminate in better accessible interactions and, as a result, better-functioning websites.
Build accessibility checks into timelines, therefore devising a project process that underscores the importance of accessibility. The more integrated web accessibility is to the entire project process, the more stakeholders will begin seeing its value.
During initial research stages of any given project, intentionally seek out diverse perspectives, whether current users or potential users, to provide research insights. Identifying potential obstacles throughout the project process can alleviate a rush to fix compliance issues before a launch.
Tackle accessibility with different people from various fields.
To achieve accessibility within the outlined legal guidelines, content, design, and development all need to work in unison.
“We argue that accessibility should be taught jointly with usability and user experience, highlighting the commonalities and boundaries of each quality”
Building an overall appreciation of user experience and accessibility can foster designers and developers to appreciate the need for both disciplines, working towards the common goal of universal and available interfaces.
Encourage peers within various disciplines to educate themselves and prioritize accessibility throughout their workflows. Each person will approach barriers and problems differently; their perspectives are invaluable.
Connect with thought leaders outside of your area of expertise and outside of your specific industry. Learning from other web professionals who also value accessibility will encourage you to continue addressing your departments’ accessibility concerns.