Summary: Minor visual changes help users distinguish between 5 different button states: enabled, disabled, hovered, focused, pressed. Buttons are core user-interface elements that, when clicked or tapped, execute an action. When designed correctly, buttons set accurate user expectations and help them understand how to interact with the interface. In addition to clear button labels, effective signaling […]
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Accessibility concerns are becoming more prevalent in the design world in recent years, with over 70 million Americans reporting having a disability in 2024. As a staggering amount of the nation continues to feel the effects of a woefully inadequate health system, comprehensive preventative care has become a luxury, available only to those that fit within […]
Efficient navigation is vital for a functional website, but not everyone uses the internet the same way. While most visitors either scroll on mobile or click through with a mouse, many people only use their keyboards. Up to 10 million American adults have carpal tunnel syndrome, which may cause pain when holding a mouse, and […]
A year ago, I learned that my role as an accessibility engineer was at risk of redundancy. It was a tough moment, both professionally and personally. For quite some time, my mind raced with guilt, self-doubt, plain sadness… But as I sat with these emotions, I found one line of thought that felt productive: reflection. […]
Dark mode, a beloved feature in modern digital interfaces, offers a visually striking alternative to traditional light themes. Its allure lies in the striking visual contrast it provides, a departure from the light themes that have dominated our screens for decades. However, its design often misses the mark on an important element — accessibility. For […]
When I started working on promoting accessibility, I was fully convinced of its value and was determined to bring it to the business stakeholders. I thought that the moment I started pushing for it inside the company, my key stakeholders would be convinced, committed, and enlightened, and everyone would start working to make it possible. […]
Graceful degradation is a design approach that ensures the basics of a website will still function even if specific individual parts of it stop working. The approach removes single points of failure: just because one thing stops working doesn’t mean the system as a whole fails. A site following this principle fails in pieces instead […]
Accessibility is key in modern web design. A site that doesn’t consider how its user experience may differ for various audiences — especially those with disabilities — will fail to engage and serve everyone equally. One of the best ways to prevent this is to approach your site from a bottom-up perspective. Understanding Bottom-Up Design […]
The late American architect Frank Lloyd Wright is unequivocally acknowledged by posterity as a pioneer of not only architecture but design as a lifestyle, pivotal in shifting the public’s accessibility to a new paradigm, vocabulary, and vision for modern living – a mission upheld to this day by the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation (FLWF). Aligning […]
Essential for some, better for all. “Accessibility” has become as buzzworthy a term as “sustainability,” with many brands attempting to capitalize on the moral arc that bends toward a more egalitarian design scene and consumer market in its slow march forward. But few are as nuanced in the practice as Michael Graves Design. Born from […]
There are many rumors and misconceptions about conforming to WCAG criteria for the minimum sizing of interactive elements. I’d like to use this post to demystify what is needed for baseline compliance and to point out an approach for making successful and inclusive interactive experiences using ample target sizes. Minimum Conformant Pixel Size Getting right […]
Getting support for accessibility efforts isn’t easy. There are many accessibility myths, wrong assumptions, and expectations that make accessibility look like a complex, expensive, and time-consuming project. Let’s fix that! Below are some practical techniques that have been working well for me to convince stakeholders to support and promote accessibility in small and large companies. […]
User experience (UX) design must consider the varied needs of all audience members. Accessibility in design matters for those with visual or physical differences. However, one thing designers sometimes fail to consider is neurodiverse people. Neurodiverse audiences may include those on the autism spectrum, ADHD, dyslexia and other neurological differences. Creating a digital experience that […]
Building successful web products at scale is a multifaceted challenge that demands a combination of technical expertise, strategic decision-making, and a growth-oriented mindset. In Success at Scale, I dive into case studies from some of the web’s most renowned products, uncovering the strategies and philosophies that propelled them to the forefront of their industries. Here […]
Lead banner: A snapshot of a tabletop at MFA Interaction Design filled with inclusive design tools and inspiration. Photo by Adriana Valdez Young “The second years are starting to redesign our bathrooms today!” Adriana Valdez Young welcomed me into a sunbathed design studio at the School of Visual Arts (SVA) in Chelsea. With a two-toned […]
Ensuring technology is accessible and inclusive relies heavily on receiving feedback directly from disabled users. You cannot rely solely on checklists, guidelines, and good-faith guesses to get things right. This is often hindered, however, by a lack of accessible prototypes available to use during testing. Rather than wait for the digital landscape to change, researchers […]
Web accessibility can be challenging, particularly for clients unfamiliar with tech or compliance with The Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA). My role as a digital designer often involves guiding clients toward ADA-compliant web designs. I’ve acquired many strategies over the years for encouraging clients to adopt accessible web practices and invest in accessible user interfaces. […]
Too often, accessibility is seen as a checklist, but it’s much more complex than that. We might be using a good contrast for our colors, but then, if these colors are perceived very differently by people, it can make interfaces extremely difficult to use. Depending on our color combinations, people with color weakness or who […]
I often hear that native mobile app accessibility is more challenging than web accessibility. Teams don’t know where to start, where to find guidance on mobile accessibility, or how to prevent mobile-specific accessibility barriers. As someone who works for a company with an active community of mobile assistive technology users, I get to learn about […]
Data visualizations are graphics that leverage our visual system and innate capabilities to gather, accumulate, and process information in our environment, as shown in the animation in Figure 1.0. Figure 1.0. An animation demonstrating our preattentive processing capability. Based on a lecture by Dr. Stephen Franconeri. (Large preview) As a result, we’re able to quickly […]
Children start interacting with the web when they are 3–5 years old. How do we design for children? What do we need to keep in mind while doing so? And how do we meet the expectations of the most demanding users you can possibly find: parents? Well, let’s find out. This article is part of […]
Today, one billion people are 60 years or older. That’s 12% of the entire world population, and the age group is growing faster than any other group. Yet, online, the needs of older adults are often overlooked or omitted. So what do we need to consider to make our designs more inclusive for older adults? […]
