Skip to content

Reflecting on Accessibility in Content Design

Contributed by Sybil Scott

Presentation Overview

Kat Shereko's presentation at the 2020 Lavacon was titled Beyond Inclusion: The Importance of Accessibile Web Content and Design. She presented a lot of information clearly and concisely, covering types of disabilities, levels of compliance according to the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG), and best practices for several common issues, including

  • Headers
  • Images
  • Forms
  • Color
  • Video
  • Links

She also offered steps for approaching accessiblity on one's own website:

  1. Choose a level of conformance
  2. Audit one segment of your website at a time
  3. Publish an accessibility statement

Takeaways

I've come across accessibility in several of my technical communications courses and it always feels like an afterthought, as if the advice is: design your website and then audit it for accessibility.

What I learned from this presentation is that many of the elements of accessibility overlap with or are woven into the principles of good information design, such as using a logical header structure, having sufficient color contrast between elements, and avoiding generic link language such as "click here."

There is, therefore, no need to think in terms of "design, then audit." Considering accessiblity while designing is not only more efficient than auditing afteward, but can actually aid in creating content that ensures the best experience for every user, regardless of ability/disability.