Scaling Accessibility Through Design Systems
Summary
Key Insights
-
•
Accessibility should be integrated early ('shift left') in the design and development process to reduce tech debt and remediation costs.
-
•
Automation tools catch about 30% of accessibility defects and cannot replace human audits and discernment.
-
•
Accessibility is often mistaken as limiting creativity, but it is actually a driver of innovation and inclusivity.
-
•
Unique naming for components like message bars is critical to avoid confusion for assistive technologies when multiple instances exist.
-
•
Breadcrumb navigation must not rely on color alone to convey meaning; it should be accessible through keyboard and screen readers and consider interactive behaviors.
-
•
Documenting accessibility decisions in design systems helps maintain consistency and educates users of the system.
-
•
Accessibility requires ongoing education and advocacy to get buy-in from diverse teams including designers, engineers, and product managers.
-
•
Small incremental changes to accessibility are better than no changes; it’s an ongoing journey rather than a one-time fix.
-
•
Accessibility levels range from inaccessible to legally compliant, usable, and ultimately innovative; compliance alone does not guarantee good UX.
-
•
Cross-functional collaboration and shared resources like accessibility one-pagers and bug-triaging spreadsheets improve scalability of accessibility efforts.
Notable Quotes
"Accessibility is innovation and this statement could potentially be some unchecked ableism."
"Automation only catches maybe 30% of all your a11y defects and even then we still receive a lot of false positives."
"I help you unlearn and relearn patterns so that you can build better products."
"If you’d rather exclude a group of people from using your product than do accessibility, then think about the impact you’re making."
"You can have a single page that’s got inaccessible, compliant, and accessible experiences all in one."
"No design system will ever be fully accessible because new features and permutations are always being introduced."
"Accessibility is a key component of user experience that has been neglected and requires specialists to close the gap."
"Small incremental changes are better than no changes at all from both the process and technical view."
"We’ve been taught to build fast and break things, and we often play accessibility on the back burner."
"Unique names for components like message bars are crucial, especially when multiple instances are shown at once."
Or choose a question:
More Videos
"I submitted 710 applications throughout the year and only 7% of those resulted in interviews."
Corey LongHiring in DesignOps: A Critical Study on How to Hire and Get Hired
September 23, 2024
"Human-centered design is not just about your end users, it’s about the humans in your team."
Gretchen AndersonScaling the Human Center
June 8, 2017
"Politics, you gotta play politics. They’re a necessary evil to get things done."
Lori Muszynski Peter MerholzKeeping Design Weird
October 2, 2023
"Assistive technology includes software and hardware that people with disabilities use to access computers."
Sam ProulxSUS: A System Unusable for Twenty Percent of the Population
June 9, 2021
"Building more ethical, responsible, and humanistic forms of technologies requires diverse and interdisciplinary conversations."
Prayag Narula Rida QadriHCI 2.0: Humanity Deserves the Attention that UX Research has to Offer
March 28, 2023
"More frequent change isn't always better; good communication and team pulse are key."
Deanna SmithLeading Change with Confidence: Strategies for Optimizing Your Process
September 23, 2024
"Reports aren’t always required; findings can be integrated directly into design docs or the product itself."
Lija HoganDoing more with more: Lessons from the Front Lines of Democratization
March 9, 2022
"The Apple 3GS and the accessibility that was developed by Apple was a massive shift."
Sam ProulxTo Boldly Go: The New Frontiers of Accessibility
March 11, 2022
"David Nicholson is the reason why you don’t have to write very fast."
Bria AlexanderOpening Remarks
October 3, 2023
