Incorporating Accessibility In User Experience Innovation

👩🦰 Designing Accessibility Personas (https://lnkd.in/evVnB4hd). How to embed accessibility and test for it early in the design process ↓ We often assume that digital products are merely that — products. They either work or don’t work. That they help people meet their needs or fail on their path to get there. But every product has its own embedded personality. It can be helpful or dull, fragile or reliable, supportive or misleading. When we design it, willingly or unwillingly, we embed our values, views and perspectives into it. Sometimes it’s meticulously shaped and refined. And sometimes it’s simply random. And when that happens, users assign their perception of the product’s personality to the product instead. Products are rarely accessible by accident. There must be an intent that captures and drives accessibility efforts in a product. And the best way to do that is by involving people with temporary, situational and permanent disabilities into the design process. One simple way of achieving that is by inviting people with disabilities in the design process. For that, we could recruit people via tools like Access Works or UserTesting, ask admins of groups and channels on accessibility to help, or drop an email to non-profits that work in accessibility space. Another way is establishing accessibility personas for user journeys. Consider them as user profiles that highlight common barriers faced by people with particular conditions and provide guidelines for designers and engineers on how to design and build for them. E.g. Simone, a dyslexic user, or Chris, a user with rheumatoid arthritis. For each, we document known challenges and notable considerations, designing training tasks for designers and developers and instructions to simulate experience through the lens of these personas. By no means does it replace proper accessibility testing, but it creates a shared understanding about what the experiences are like. You can build on top of Gov.uk’s profound research project (https://lnkd.in/evVnB4hd) — it also explains how to set up devices and browsers, so that each persona has their own browser profile. Once you do, you can always switch between them and simulate an experience, without changing settings every single time. All Accessibility Personas (+ Tasks, Research, Setup) https://lnkd.in/evVnB4hd Accessibility doesn’t have to be challenging if it’s considered early. No digital product is neutral. Accessibility is a deliberate decision, and a commitment. Not only does it help everyone; it also shows what a company believes in and values. And once you do have a commitment, and it will be much easier to retain accessibility, rather than adding it last minute as a crutch — because that’s where it’s way too late to do it right, and way too expensive to make it well. [Useful pointers in the comments ↓] #ux #accessibility

♿💻 Accessibility isn’t just “nice to have” — it’s what makes a website usable for everyone. When we design or build, every detail matters: 🔹Text: readability, contrast, resize without breaking layout 🔹Headings (H1–H6): logical hierarchy, one H1 per page 🔹Alt text: meaningful descriptions for images 🔹Hover & focus states: visible indicators, no “hidden focus” 🔹DOM order: ensure keyboard navigation follows a logical path 🔹ARIA labels: add context where HTML alone isn’t enough To guide us, WCAG uses 3 compliance levels: 🔹 A (Must have) – The basics. Without this, many people simply cannot use your product.
 Examples: keyboard navigation, alt text for images, sufficient text contrast. 🔹 AA (Should have) – The standard most organizations aim for. It balances inclusion with practicality.
 Examples: focus visibility, resizable text, clear headings, captions for live audio. 🔹 AAA (Nice to have) – The gold standard. Harder to achieve everywhere but amazing if you can.
 Examples: sign language interpretation, extended audio descriptions, very high contrast text. #Accessibility #A11y #WCAG #UXDesign #UI #InclusiveDesign #WebDevelopment #ProductDesign

Accessibility case study: Spotify When we talk about accessibility leaders in the Nordics, most people think of IKEA. But there’s another name worth celebrating: Spotify. ✨ A few highlights: ▷ Accessible by default: their design system, Encore, has an “Encore x Accessibility” track. Many components come with accessibility built-in, and for edge cases, designers get clear, practical guidance. In other words: devs don’t need to reinvent the wheel — accessibility is baked in. ▷ Guidelines that scale: Spotify even shares their Accessibility Guidelines for Developers openly. They’re structured into “quick wins,” “medium-term wins,” and “intensive wins.” It’s a roadmap teams can actually use, not just a wish list. ▷ Research that listens: when they redesigned Your Library, they didn’t just crunch numbers. They combined quant data (how people use the app) with qual feedback (interviews, beta testing) to understand the “why” behind the struggles. That balance is rare, and it shows in the end product. ▷ Nothing about us without us: Spotify partnered with Fable, a community of people with disabilities, to test their products and shape their upcoming Accessibility Plan. Over 100 people with lived experience gave feedback across vision, hearing, mobility, cognition, and speech. That’s accessibility grounded in reality, not theory. 🚀 Why does this stand out compared to others? Lots of companies are still at the stage of “raising awareness” or “appointing an accessibility officer.” Spotify is already embedding accessibility into the tools, workflows, and research methods that shape their everyday product decisions. That’s the shift: from side project to core practice. ⚠️ Gaps & real-world limits: ▷ Scale + legacy product complexity: large platforms must balance many priorities; rolling out accessibility universally across all surfaces (mobile apps, web players, embedded widgets, third-party integrations) takes time. Public work shows progress but also ongoing work. ▷ Content ecosystem challenges: user-generated content (podcasts, artist uploads, social clips) creates variability — captioning and metadata quality depend heavily on creators and tooling. This is an industry-wide gap, not unique to Spotify. 🔎Lessons for companies: ▷ Start with people, not checklists. Invest in user research with people who actually use assistive tech; let the data drive product choices. ▷ Make accessibility social inside the company. Run regular meetups, internal talks, and learning series so the knowledge spreads beyond a single team. ▷ Partner early with specialists & communities. External partners bring lived experience, accelerate learning, and reduce the risk of misguided solutions. ▷ Plan for content & ecosystem complexity. Where creators supply content, invest in creator tools (easy captioning, templates) and moderation/quality flows. ▷ Measure & be transparent. Track accessibility metrics and be honest about scope and remaining work — transparency builds trust.

Pleased to share our new article in Harvard Business Review co-authored with Vijay Govindarajan (VG), Kinya Seto, and Tojin Thomas Eapen. The central argument: companies that design for people with disabilities, rather than treating accessibility as a compliance issue or a niche market, can unlock substantial commercial and social value. We call this process design amplification. It follows a four-level path: solutions designed for marginalized users expand outward to other marginalized groups, then to people with temporary or situational constraints, and ultimately to mainstream consumers who simply prefer the better experience. A walk-in bathtub designed for seniors with mobility limitations is now a $750 million market. A bidet toilet developed for hospital patients in 1967 reached over 80% household adoption in Japan by 2018. Google Live Transcribe, built for people with hearing loss, has been downloaded more than a billion times by journalists, students, and travelers who hear perfectly well. The pattern holds across industries and product categories. Our analysis of over 150 cases, combined with an in-depth study of LIXIL's design process, led us to develop a five-step Design Amplification Playbook that any product team can apply. The core reframe for business leaders: accessibility constraints aren't limitations on your innovation process. They are a lens that forces designers to question assumptions the rest of the market takes for granted, and that's often where the best ideas come from. https://lnkd.in/eFv5VNVD #Innovation #DesignThinking #InclusiveDesign #ProductDevelopment #Strategy #Marketing

Edge cases aren’t as rare as many think—they’re just less visible. Most teams design for the ideal user in the perfect scenario: ✅ Clean data. ✅ Fast wifi. ✅ Desktop screen. ✅ Full attention. ✅ Two working hands. But auditing dozens of products has shown me that “edge case” are sometimes the majority. → Your user ordering food while holding a crying baby → Someone navigating your app with a broken wrist → People using voice commands because their hands are busy → Someone squinting at your low-contrast text in bright sunlight We call them edge cases because they live outside our comfortable assumptions about how people use our products. The truth? Your “happy path” user—sitting calmly at their desk, fully focused, with perfect conditions—they’re the real edge case. When you design for the invisible majority, something interesting happens. Your product doesn’t just become more accessible. It becomes more usable for everyone. → Keyboard navigation helps screen reader users—and power users who prefer shortcuts → High contrast modes support low vision—and anyone using their phone outdoors → Simple language helps cognitive accessibility—and reduces friction for everyone → Voice controls assist motor impairments—and busy multitaskers → Reduced motion prevents vestibular issues—and saves battery life The businesses that understand this don’t treat accessibility as compliance theater. They recognize it as a competitive advantage. Because when you solve for the hardest use cases, you make your product resilient for all use cases. Most of your users aren’t swimming in perfect conditions. They’re navigating choppy waters with limited visibility, competing priorities, and real-world constraints. Design for the storm, not the calm. What’s the biggest “edge case” you’ve designed for? #uxdesign #accessibility #productdesign ——— 👋 Hi, I’m Dane—your source for UX and career tips. ❤️ Found this helpful? Dropping a like would be 🔥. 🔄 Share to help others (or for easy access later). ➕ Follow for more like this delivered to your feed every day.

What Does "Embedding Accessibility" Really Mean? Embedding accessibility into your environment, such as an event, presentation, or product, means proactively designing features that increase access for a larger group of people. It not only reduces the need for specialized accommodation requests but also improves the experience for everyone. Let’s break it down with a few examples: 💬 #Captions: By embedding captions into all your content (keynotes, breakout sessions, etc.), you’re supporting individuals with all stages of hearing loss. But captions also benefit attendees who process information visually, those in noisy environments, or even individuals for whom English is a second language. It’s a win for clarity and comprehension. 👀 #Visual #Descriptions: When you describe what’s on your slides during a presentation, you’re making your content accessible to people who are blind or have low vision. At the same time, you’re helping people who may be multitasking, like glancing at their phones or listening in while on the go. Here’s the big picture: While accessibility features are designed with people with disabilities in mind, they often have a ripple effect, benefiting a much wider audience. This is called the curb-cut effect (or "universal design effect"). Curb cuts, for instance, were created for wheelchair users but are now invaluable for parents with strollers, travelers with luggage, and even cyclists. When you prioritize universal design, you’re making your environment more accessible and enhancing the experience for everyone. Increased participation, better engagement, and glowing feedback is the power of accessibility done right. 🫶 #Accessibility #UniversalDesign #AccessForAll

Accessibility isn’t a feature. It’s a mindset—one that belongs in every phase of development. Too many teams wait until the end to “add accessibility.” By then, it’s too late. Expensive. Frustrating. Exclusionary. Here’s the truth: Accessibility must be integrated at every stage of the Software Development Lifecycle: • Planning: Include accessibility goals from the beginning. • Analysis: Define inclusive user stories and edge cases. • Design: Use accessible colors, layouts, and UX patterns. • Implementation: Write semantic code and follow best practices. • Testing & Integration: Test with screen readers, keyboard-only users, and real disabled users. • Maintenance: Ensure updates never break accessibility. This is how we build products that work for everyone. Not just some. Let’s stop treating accessibility like a bolt-on. Let’s make it a built-in. Because accessibility isn’t just good practice. It’s the right thing to do. [Image Description: A man pushes a large block labeled “ACCESSIBILITY” into the center of a software lifecycle diagram, symbolizing the need to embed accessibility throughout.] #Accessibility #InclusiveDesign #A11y #SDLC #SoftwareDevelopment #UXDesign #DigitalInclusion #TechForAll #DisabilityInclusion #BuildAccessible Image Description: A cartoon-style illustration shows a man pushing a large yellow block labeled “ACCESSIBILITY” into the center of a circular software development lifecycle diagram. The cycle includes six colored boxes connected by arrows: Planning (red), Analysis (blue), Design (purple), Implementation (green), Testing & Integration (lavender), and Maintenance (orange). The man is wearing a light blue shirt and dark pants, pushing the accessibility block determinedly between the Analysis and Design stages.

Ever notice the little cutouts at street corners, designed so wheelchairs can easily cross the street? That small change—often referred to as the “curb cut”—is a classic example of inclusive design. Initially created to assist people using wheelchairs, these curb cuts have ended up benefiting far more people, from parents pushing strollers to delivery workers with heavy carts and travellers rolling suitcases. This phenomenon is known as the “curb-cut effect.” But here’s why it matters on a bigger scale: over 1.3 billion people (about 16% of the world’s population) live with some form of disability, according to the World Health Organization. Why Inclusive Design Matters 🔻 1️⃣ Empathy Translates to Innovation When we put ourselves in the shoes of people with different abilities, we often stumble upon creative, universally helpful solutions. Curb cuts are just one example—voice recognition technology, originally developed for people with mobility or visual impairments, is now used daily by millions of people around the world. 2️⃣ Better Customer and Employee Experience Companies that prioritise accessibility foster a culture where everyone feels valued. According to a Harvard Business Review article, diverse and inclusive teams often make better decisions up to 87% of the time. Making environments usable for all can translate into stronger loyalty from both customers and employees. 3️⃣ Economic and Social Impact An environment that’s easier to navigate means more people are able to fully participate in the economy and society. Whether it’s allowing someone to shop independently or enabling them to access education and job opportunities, inclusive design has a real impact on quality of life and financial well-being. The curb-cut effect is a reminder that when we remove barriers for some, we often end up elevating the experience for all. This video really highlights how it feels to live in a world not designed for your sensory abilities.

Accessibility in development isn’t about adding extras, it’s about writing better code from the get-go. Simple habits that can help are: ✅ Use button elements for buttons → <button> works everywhere, while <div role="button"> needs extra work (and often breaks). A button being a better button if it's a button, wow can you imagine? ✅ Label form fields properly → <label for="email"> ensures everyone knows what they’re filling out, including screen readers and autofill. ✅ Make clickable areas big enough → Small touch targets frustrate everyone, especially on touch screens. ✅ Don’t remove focus styles → If you hide focus indicators, keyboard users get lost. Instead, make them your own: design them to fit your UI and brand design. Don't forget that they still need to pass 3:1 color contrast. ✅ Test with a keyboard → Speaking of focus indicators: Can you navigate your site without a mouse? Well, have you tried? This is where the custom focus indicator will either shine or embarrass you. Good code isn’t just functional, it’s usable. And that’s what sets great developers apart. Accessibility isn’t an add-on, it’s what makes you great at your job.

Digital accessibility goes beyond just ticking the boxes of WCAG compliance. It’s about creating digital experiences that genuinely work for disabled people, and that starts with listening to them. Accessibility is more than a checklist – it’s about putting people at the centre of your design process. It’s about actively seeking out their insights through user testing to understand where they face barriers and how to eliminate them. It’s not just about fixing what’s broken; it’s about asking “how can we make this great feature even better?”. It’s about iterating, evolving, and continuously improving based on real user feedback. While the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines are a great foundation, they are just the starting point. They represent the floor, not the ceiling. True digital accessibility means striving for more – involving users in every step of design, making changes that reflect their needs, and constantly pushing for a better user experience. WCAG compliance is the bare minimum. Creating a seamless, enjoyable, and instinctive user experience is what transforms a good product into a leading product. ID: a Robbie Crow purple image that reads “Accessibility is more than compliance - it's about creating digital experiences that truly work for everyone”. A QR code is in the bottom right corner. #DisabilityInclusion #AccessibilityMatters #InclusiveDesign #DiversityAndInclusion #UserExperience #WCAG #DigitalInclusion #Content #A11y