Accessibility doesn’t have to be a big hurdle. It’s not thinking about design any differently than you do now — it’s just emphasizing better patterns in clear communication. Other disciplines practice these patterns effortlessly every day and blend into the world around us.
In 2020, I became certified by the International Associate of Accessibility Professionals (IAAP) as a Certified Professional in Accessibility Core Competencies.
My first experience with accessibility began when I taught it in public workshops at an Apple Store. I didn’t know anything, so I went through my iPhone’s Accessibility Settings panel, feature by feature, turning everything on, and learning what it did. Once I learned by doing, I turned around and taught groups the same way. The participants were the best people you could ever ask for: school teachers, parents of special needs children, friends and caregivers — just the kind of people who look for others.
On a desktop browser, we take type scaling for granted. Enlarge the text, the whole page gets bigger, and the type becomes more readable. How do you make the text on your screen bigger in a mobile app? Both iOS and Android platforms feature a system-wide preference for font size across all apps. The feature is flexible and allows you to define which text does, and does not, scale based on the user’s preference.
copy copy copy
Screen readers make it possible for low and no-vision people to use your website or app. Apple, Microsoft, and Google build screen readers into their platforms.
Accessibility doesn’t have to be a big hurdle. It’s not thinking about design any differently than you do now — it’s just emphasizing better patterns in clear communication. Other disciplines practice these patterns effortlessly every day and blend into the world around us.