Accessibility for Designers

Accessibility isn’t a WCAG audit at the end — it’s a user need. Talks about designing for people, not specifications.

A lot of people see accessibility as an issue for testers to find, and developers to fix. However, most WCAG failures originate in the design. And, even when compliant, there are still many barriers and usability issues which, as designers, we have to take responsibility for. So we need to shift accessibility left.

Talks in this theme are for design audiences. Designers, UX practitioners, and anybody involved in the product design process. I cover topics that will help you to understand design decisions that create barriers, and the patterns, layouts and components that can cause issues.

It was great to have Craig come and speak to the whole design team at Valtech. His talk was full of practical examples that really made an impact on our output. It was enthusiastically received by the team!

Pete Jobes, Human Centred Designer

Topics I cover

  • Why passing a WCAG audit doesn’t mean your product is accessible
  • Usability issues that can still exist within a compliant product
  • Design decisions which create accessibility barriers
  • Why “pixel perfect” thinking fails people with accessibility needs
  • Practical design principles when designing for neurodiversity
  • The cognitive and neurodivergent support hiding in the AAA criteria everybody skips

Talk titles

  • Accessibility is a design problem
  • Designing for everyone
  • Designing for neurodiversity
  • Empathy in accessibility
  • If it’s not user-centred, it’s not accessible
  • The problem with “pixel perfect” design
Delivery
In person or remote
Formats
  • 30 minute talk
  • 60 minute talk
Who should attend
  • UX practitioners
  • Product teams
Level of experience
All levels — no accessibility experience needed
Tags

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In action

  • Craig gestures mid-talk on the blue-lit UX London stage, beside a slide advising "Avoid text on images" with e-commerce card examples.
  • A wide shot of the UX London stage as Craig presents a slide titled "Make links easy to identify", comparing an obvious underlined link with one that is harder to spot.
  • Craig waves to the audience at A11y North in a pink a11y North t-shirt, as his "Designing for Neurodiversity" title slide fills the screen.
  • Craig and a co-presenter open their Tech Next session beneath a title slide reading "Designing for everyone: the path to true accessibility", flanked by sponsor banners.
  • Craig stands beside a slide declaring "If it's not user-centred, it's not accessible!" at Front End North.
  • Craig smiles at the Front End North audience in front of a slide reading "Accessibility is a user need — not a technical specification", with live captions displayed on a side screen.
  • Craig gestures towards a slide titled "A lot of support for readability is lost in the AAA criteria", listing unusual words, abbreviations, reading level and pronunciation, with live captions on a screen beside the stage.
  • Craig presents to a full Front End North auditorium in Sheffield, beneath a slide titled "A lot of support for neurodivergent people is lost in the AAA criteria", mapping WCAG criteria to autism, ADHD, dyspraxia and dyslexia.
  • Craig speaks on the Front End North stage beside a slide reading "We need to do User Centred Accessibility — not User Centred Design with a WCAG audit slapped on at the end."
  • Craig closes his Front End North talk with a "Thanks!" slide showing his signature and contact links.
  • Craig presents beside a lectern, in front of a large projection of the Google Search home page.
  • Craig on stage beside a slide reading "It's important to test your product with people who use assistive technology", showing a photo of a screen reader user at their desk.
  • Craig presents in front of a slide reading "If your product is accessible, you have another 10 million potential customers".
  • Craig on stage in front of a seated audience, presenting a slide reading "Accessibility should be designed from the start, not an afterthought".
  • Craig speaks to a small workshop audience beside a screen reading "People are not always disabled by their impairments, they are disabled by poorly designed environments".
  • Craig gestures beside a screen reading "People with dyslexia often prefer soft contrasts", shown as dark blue text on a soft cream background.
  • Craig presents in front of a brick wall and a DWP Digital banner, beside a slide reading "Research regularly with users on their own devices in their own environment".
  • A wide view of a full meetup room, with Craig presenting beside a DWP Digital "Collaborate to innovate" banner at the front.
  • A packed room at Campus North in Newcastle, with the audience seated at white picnic-style benches while Craig presents in the far corner.
  • Craig presents to a seated audience across three screens, each showing a slide defining disability as "when a person finds it difficult to perform everyday tasks to a level that is considered normal for most people".
  • Craig gestures beside a slide reading "An impairment is medical. It's the condition or symptoms that person experiences", with the example "low vision or blindness".
  • Craig stands behind a desk mid-talk, in front of a slide reading "It's important to test your product with people who use assistive technology".

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