If you care at all about inequality, you also have to care about web accessibility
It’s now 2018, and I am astounded by how much I still have to fight for accessible web design, as though not being accessible were somehow a legitimate design choice.
Inaccessible website design excludes people.
Imagine not being allowed in to the places where you buy your groceries. Imagine not just being able to check when the train goes, when the gym opens, what you need to know to file your tax return. All those things you use the web for every day, without even thinking about it.
Now imagine being told:
“Yes, but you see the design is so much cleaner/more elegant/minimalist/etc as it is now”.
Or “I’m sorry, the budget didn’t extend to making this accessible. We’ll be rolling out a more advanced version sometime next year.”
I’m sure it’s very comforting for people who can’t use that thing you designed that it looks nice, or that there wasn’t any money left to make it usable. Meanwhile, they can’t buy food or rail tickets, use government services, or do many of the things so many people take for granted on the web.
Your inaccessible design just created some second-class citizens.
Where is your usual outrage about inequality now?
If it’s not actually usable, it’s not actually design.
Maybe it’s still art, but let’s not kid ourselves.
Aren’t designers supposed to actively embrace constraints?
I can’t think of a better set of design constraints than the WCAG 2.0 guidelines for accessibility. Accessible design still leaves many interesting options on the table. If that’s not your bag, maybe web design isn’t for you.
In 2018, educate yourself about:
Basic colour contrast (and how to check contrast)
Why it’s more complicated than producing text-only content
Keyboard navigation principles
Designing for people with cognitive difficulties (often overlooked in web accessibility)
And quit pretending that accessible web design is not your responsibility.
In 2018, stop treating people who challenge you on web accessibility as though they were raining on your design parade. You’re the party pooper.
