Accessibility as a usability amplifier
By using a permanent disability as our baseline, more people benefit. Making accessibility a core aspect of design and development decision-making ensures products are usable for anyone, with or without a disability.
Microsoft Inclusive Design illustrates this well: designing for users with one arm (a permanent disability) scales to include 21 million people.
| Limitation | People benefiting |
|---|---|
| Permanent — one arm | 26k |
| Temporary — broken arm | 13m |
| Situational — carrying a baby | 8m |
| Total | 21m+ |
Source: US Census Bureau, Limbs for Life Foundation, Amputee Coalition, MedicineHealth.com, CDC.gov, Disability Statistics Center at UCSF
Digital accessibility encompasses all impairments
Accessibility is a spectrum of permanent, temporary and situational scenarios. When ignored, each one introduces barriers to a person’s ability to access digital content.
Disability types
- Touch — physical impairments
- See — vision loss
- Hear — hearing loss
- Speak — non-verbal impairments
- Think — cognitive impairments, including:
- Attention — the ability to focus or stay focused on a task
- Processing speed — the rate at which the brain handles information
- Memory retention — storing and recalling information
- Logic and reasoning — comprehending, prioritising and planning from visual and verbal cues
- Language processing — recognising letters and words; understanding written or spoken language
- Math processing — recognising numbers and symbols; understanding and calculating simple maths
Starter material: Designing for accessibility
| Description | Link |
|---|---|
| High-level design considerations for accessible needs | Home Office Accessibility Posters |
| Introduction to accessibility and the barriers people face (LinkedIn Learning, Derek Featherstone) | UX Foundations: Accessibility |
| Practical accessibility techniques for web design (LinkedIn Learning, Derek Featherstone) | Accessibility for Web Design |
| Basic design job sheet from Deque — accessibility considerations to keep in mind | Design Considerations for Disabilities (PDF) |
Starter material: Screen readers
| Description | Link |
|---|---|
| 8-bit animation showing how a screen reader user navigates using landmarks, headings and tab stops | BingO Bakery: Headings, Landmarks, and Tabs |
| Short accessibility fundamentals videos from a Google Chrome developer | A11ycasts with Rob Dodson |
| Screen reader keyboard shortcuts and gesture reference | Deque Screen Reader Keyboard Shortcuts |
| Explanations and examples of ARIA landmarks | W3C ARIA Landmarks Example |
Starter material: Vision loss
| Description | Link |
|---|---|
| Simulation glasses for general loss of ability to see fine detail | Cambridge Simulation Glasses |
| Colour contrast ratio checkers | color.review, WebAIM Contrast Checker, WebAIM Link Contrast Checker |
| Figma contrast plugin | Contrast (Figma Community) |
| WCAG contrast ratios by colour vision type | Who Can Use |
Starter material: Cognitive accessibility
| Description | Link |
|---|---|
| Introduction to what cognitive disabilities actually mean | An Introductory Guide to Understanding Cognitive Disabilities — Deque |