When is it OK? When is it disrespectful? My thoughts on a complicated topic Simulation is a common but misguided approach to invoking empathy for disability and accessibility-related issues. This is often done in group settings and is incredibly common in…
7 things that turn good accessibility into great accessibility
“It’s easy to pick on people who do a crappy job at accessibility. Why don’t you write an article on how to get people good at accessibility to up their game?” I was asked in one PM. Challenge accepted. The…
10 things that indicate designers have no clue about accessibility
Once you see more than one of the items below, you can be fairly sure that accessibility was not considered in design and development People frequently reach out to me* asking if a particular site is accessible. This happened last…
Addressing accessibility requirements in design briefs
Don’t produce a design document that includes a design implementation recipe without including accessibility details. Adesign brief is a description of a project and corresponding drawings (comps and wireframes, for example) created by a person or team in consultation with…
Overlays are not the solution to your accessibility problem
In the long run they will hurt, not help your approach to people with disabilities Accessibility overlays are tools that detect and dynamically repair HTML accessibility issues in non-mobile environments. And what accessibility manager in their right mind WOULDN’T want…
2019 Accessibility Blog Wrap-up
Links to my most read stories, most impactful stories, and favorite stories In November 2018, I set a goal of writing 100 accessibility articles before the end of 2019. I met that goal, and then some. Here are some of…
How to avoid being an accessibility grinch
Maybe accessibility doesn’t come from a store. Maybe accessibility perhaps means just a little bit more? In this holiday season, here are a few notes on how not to be “Grinch-like” in your accessibility activities. Accessibility isn’t a feature, it’s…
How to make organizations aware of an accessibility issue
Companies are more likely to take care of its squeaky wheel customers. This is how you can squeak. How loud you squeak (and who joins you in squeaking) is up to you. You’ve found an accessibility problem, in a website…
Accessibility tools and plugins that designers should be using
The article “Best Chrome Plugins Designers should be using” did not contain any accessibility plugins. There, I fixed that for you 🙂 Designers have their choice of countless tools, many of which are convenient plugins that are integrated with Chrome.…
Dark UI themes are new and cool — but are they accessible?
Dark mode is one of those new, hot design features that is generating a lot of “buzz”. Apple and Slack, for example, have been pushing dark themed pages hard lately. However, it appears that not much thought has been given…