Crafted’s Post

I wrote a blog post about how to start including Accessibility in your daily design practice, which you can find on our recently launched MadeCurious. website ✨ Before I got accessibility training (from Access Advisors) I always thought accessibility was difficult. I thought I needed formal training before incorporating it into my work and it would cost a lot of effort and time to do it. And if you have a little bit of imposter syndrome like me, you probably think you need to know all the things before you get started, otherwise you don’t feel “qualified” enough to do the work. Well, it turns out this is not the case - accessibility isn’t rocket science 🚀 Adding a few easy-to-set-up processes to my daily work habits as a UX designer has already significantly improved my designs and made them more accessible. #Accessibility #InclusiveDesign #UXDesign

🌟 Designing for Accessibility: Inclusivity in Digital Design Ever thought about how people with disabilities use digital products? Accessibility ensures everyone can enjoy and interact with your design! 🌍 💡 Why It Matters: 1. Inclusivity: Everyone deserves access. 2. Better Usability: Improves overall user experience. 3. Legal Compliance: Avoid legal issues. 4. Broader Reach: More users, more success. 🔑 Accessibility Basics: 1. Perceivable: Make sure all content is noticeable. 2. Operable: Ensure users can navigate with different tools. 3. Understandable: Keep content clear and simple. 4. Robust: Compatible with assistive tech. 🛠 Quick Tips: 1. Use Clear HTML: Helps screen readers. 2. Add Text for Images: Describe visuals. 3. High Contrast: Easy-to-read text. 4. Keyboard-Friendly: Ensure full functionality via keyboard. 5. User Testing: Get feedback from people with disabilities. 🚀 Final Thought: Good design is accessible design. Let’s make digital spaces welcoming for everyone! How do you include accessibility in your designs? Share below! 👇 #UXDesign #Accessibility #InclusiveDesign #UserExperience #DesignForAll

Equip your team with an in-depth understanding of accessibility principles and best practices. We’re here to answer questions, troubleshoot issues, and provide guidance every step of the way. We offer tailored training sessions to address your library's specific needs and challenges. - Benefits for Your Library: Increased Confidence: Build staff confidence in managing and maintaining an accessible website. - User Experience: Ensure a seamless and enjoyable online experience for patrons of all abilities. - Long-Term Sustainability: Foster a culture of accessibility that lasts, with ongoing support to keep your website inclusive. Ready to Equip Your Staff? Transform your library into an accessibility advocate! Contact us to learn more about our training and support services. ID: a keyboard with icons for people with disabilities and the phrase: “Empower your library staff with accessibility knowledge.” #ColorAccessibility #InclusiveDesign #AccessibilityAwareness #Accessibility #UserExperience #InclusiveDesign #AccessibilityTips #UxAccessibility #Accessibility #Accessible #AccessibilityForAll #AccessibilityMatters #InclusiveDesign #InclusionRevolution #Inclusivity #UxDesign #UxResearch #UserExperience #WebAccessibility #WebAccessibilityStandards #ContentAccessibility #PublicLibrary #InclusiveLibraries #WebDesign #Innovation #WebsiteNagivation #Ionicnet

Did you know that over a billion people worldwide live with some form of disability? Designing for accessibility isn't just about compliance; it's about inclusion.   Creating digital environments that everyone can navigate, understand, and enjoy is not just good design—it’s essential. Here are some practical tips for making your interfaces more accessible: 🌐 Contrast and Color: Use high contrast color combinations to make text and important elements stand out. Ensure that information conveyed with color is also accessible through other means. 🌐 Text Size and Spacing: Implement scalable text and adjustable spacing options to accommodate users with vision impairments. Larger clickable areas benefit users with motor difficulties as well. 🌐 Alt Text and Labels: Provide descriptive alt text for all images. Use clear, concise labels for form inputs and interactive elements. 🌐 Keyboard Navigation: Ensure your site can be navigated using a keyboard alone. This is crucial for users with motor disabilities who might not be able to use a mouse. 🌐 Aural Experience: Offer text transcripts for audio content and ensure videos include closed captioning. This not only helps those with hearing impairments but also benefits users in sound-sensitive environments. 🌐 Test with Real Users: Include people with disabilities in your testing phase. Their firsthand experience is invaluable in identifying usability issues that might not be obvious. 🚀 Are you ready to make your digital content accessible to all?   Start implementing these changes today and open your digital doors wider! Let's ensure no one is left behind in our digital world! 👉 Learn more about our UX Design services and how we can help make your website or app accessible to everyone. #Accessibility #InclusiveDesign #UXDesign #DigitalInclusion #WebDesign #AccessibleTechnology #UserExperience

I had a fantastic time as a mentor in AccessNow's #NextGen program. I got to guide Ali Brown as she thought about the challenges designers have with Figma's accessible prototypes, researched the problem space, and experimented with solutions. A good product designer falls in love with problems, not solutions. They have a natural curiosity that drives creativity. I saw Ali pivot as her understanding increased instead of hanging on to her original idea. It's been a long time since I led a design team and this was such a fun way to revisit skills from my past. Ali, I'm proud of the process you followed, your openness to exploration, and the end result! Check out the video she made about her NextGen project. Video transcript: Let's make designing for accessibility easy. Designers need a way to easily make prototypes that are screen reader-compatible so they can involve visually impaired and blind users in their design processes. Figma allows designers to make screen reader-compatible prototypes, but you probably don't know about it because it's hard to use. How can we optimize Figma to make creating screen reader-compatible prototypes easy for any designer? With an accessibility mode that automatically detects elements [Overlay: Welcome to Accessibility Mode - view and edit content that is adapted for screen reader testing] [Figma design: Your Chef with navigation and cards all labelled with a number indicating reading order] [Hover on heading shows overlay: element <header> <h1> Text: Simple dishes made by Your Chef] Lists elements in order of how they would be read and the ability to edit elements. [Panel: list of all numbered elements, Hover on error icon: Field is empty] [Select edit icon, enter Element <form> Text: Search] Let's make designing for accessibility easy. A case study by Ali Brown.

Today I finished AccessNow's #NextGen program. Right now it's hard for designers to include people with disabilities in their design process. This is caused by many different issues, including the employment gap for people with disabilities, lack of accessible design education, and ignorance surrounding people with disabilities. So, my project serves as a think piece for designers and design culture in general. Why does designing for accessibility have to be hard? Why can't we create tools that make designing for accessibility seamless? When I was at school my fellow designers would always check the colour contrast accessibility because it was an easy way to make sure your design was accessible. In my experience, designers want to create accessible design but they feel it's daunting and it takes a lot of self-teaching to become an accessible designer. We can't ask every designer to take the time and extra effort to learn about accessible design (as much as we want to). But we can come up with ways of making it easy for designers. That's why my project was about exploring a way for designers to create screen-reader-compatible prototypes easily. So, they can involve visually impaired and blind users in their design processes. Figma has an accessibility mode that translates prototype elements into HTML. I researched how effective this tool is and then came up with how it could be optimized for every designer. Check out this video giving a summary of my project. Later on, I will be posting a full case study for anyone that's interested! Thank you so much to Robin Koczerginski, Ratsamy Pathammavong, Maayan Ziv and everyone at NextGen who made this project possible. And thank you very much to my amazing mentor Kate Kalcevich, for giving me the confidence and guidance needed for this exploration. Let's make designing for accessibility easy!!! https://lnkd.in/eu29dHK6

Well, this is new. Usually I go directly as barren html without visual to ensure the structure, understanding, basically information architecture. So, it is clear that any designer who WANT and ABLE to make their design accessible need to understand (at least) basic HTML5. #a11y #a11yID

The Inclusive Design Revolution: Why Accessibility is Key in Product Design In today's digital age, accessibility in product design is not just a nice-to-have feature; it's a necessity. Accessibility ensures that everyone, regardless of ability, can access and use products effectively. From websites to mobile apps, inclusive design is transforming the way we interact with technology. Breaking Down Barriers Imagine trying to navigate a website without being able to see the screen. For visually impaired users, this is a daily reality. Accessibility features such as screen readers and high contrast modes make it possible for them to access information online. These features not only benefit users with disabilities but also enhance the user experience for all users. A Personal Touch Take, for example, the story of Sarah, a college student with dyslexia. Sarah struggled to keep up with her coursework until she discovered text-to-speech software. This simple tool allowed her to listen to her textbooks instead of reading them, significantly improving her comprehension and grades. By designing products with accessibility in mind, we can empower individuals like Sarah to achieve their full potential. Designing for Diversity Inclusive design goes beyond accommodating disabilities; it's about designing for diversity. Consider the case of Jack, an elderly man who finds small text difficult to read on his smartphone. By incorporating adjustable font sizes and clear typography, designers can make products more accessible to older users like Jack, enhancing their user experience. The Bottom Line Accessibility is not just a moral imperative; it's also good for business. Inclusive design opens up products to a larger audience, including individuals with disabilities, the elderly, and those with temporary impairments. By making products more accessible, companies can tap into new markets and drive innovation. Moving Forward As we continue to advance in technology, the importance of accessibility in product design cannot be overstated. By embracing inclusive design principles, we can create products that are not only functional and user-friendly but also inclusive and empowering for all. So let's make accessibility a priority in product design and ensure that no one is left behind in the digital age. #InclusiveDesign #AccessibilityMatters #DigitalInclusion #ProductDesign #UserExperience #DiversityandInclusion #Innovation #Empowerment #AccessibilityInTech #DesignForAll #functionality

Excited to share my debut Medium article exploring accessibility in design for dyslexic users, inspired by my grad project journey! I'd love to learn more about how you try and apply or advocate for accessibility guidelines in your work? ----------- 👋 I'm Neha and I'm an Product Designer in Vancouver. I enjoy creating fun and meaningful experiences by connecting business goals, user needs and cultural insights. If you want to talk more design, talk about the food scene in Vancouver or have a random idea to explore I'd love to connect! ----------- Disclaimer 📣 This post is just me sharing my experiences, thoughts of what I've picked up from my design work so far. #Accessibility #GradProject"

Have you ever thought about how different people interact with digital products? 📱💻 For people with disabilities, older adults, and people with low literacy skills, using digital products can be challenging or even impossible. 😢 This is where inclusive design comes in! 🌈 Inclusive design is all about designing products that meet the needs of a wide range of users, including people from all backgrounds and abilities. 💪 Here are a few examples of how inclusive design is being used to make digital products more accessible and usable for everyone: Large text and high-contrast colours: 😎 These features make products more readable for people with low vision. Voice control: 🗣️ This feature makes products more accessible for people with disabilities that prevent them from using a mouse or keyboard. Simple language: 🔤 This feature makes products more understandable for people with low literacy skills. Inclusive design is important because it helps to ensure that everyone has equal access to the information and resources they need. 💡 It also helps to create more inclusive and equitable communities. 🤝 Here are a few ways that you can use inclusive design in your own products: Consider your users: 👥 Think about the different types of users who will be using your product. What are their needs and abilities? Use inclusive design principles: ⚖️ There are a number of inclusive design principles that you can use to create more accessible and usable products. Test and iterate: 🔁 It's important to test and iterate on your inclusive design designs to ensure that they are effective. You should also solicit feedback from users with disabilities and other marginalized groups to get their input on how you can improve the inclusive design experience. By using inclusive design, we can make digital products more accessible and usable for everyone. #figma #Inclusivedesign #usability #Productdesign