— Allison Shaw, Zendesk / ClarityConf 2020

Everyone is benefitting from accessibility. Devices we use everyday (like a remote for TV) were actually invented for accessibility. We need to practice accessibility more intentionally. Inclusion goes beyond accessibility, it seeks to make things not just usable, but friendly, welcoming and even delightful to anyone that uses them.

— Allison Shaw, Zendesk / ClarityConf 2020

What is a disability?

Disability is a mismatch between environment and abilities. It’s not just about permanent disabilities, also about situational disabilities. Technology can also cause situational disabilities:

• A bad monitor which washes out colors
• A slow 3G mobile plan
• A dead mouse makes you are a keyboard only user

— Allison Shaw, Zendesk / ClarityConf 2020

Disability is a spectrum:

— Source (Microsoft Inclusive Design)

How do disabled people feel on the internet?

A quote from a blind person from an Airbnb user testing:

I don’t want to browse the internet and have a separate experience in accessibility mode. I wanna use the same thing as what everyone else uses. The internet’s one of the safest places for me because it’s where my disability is disguised from everyone else. I don’t want to be relegated to a digital ghetto.

— Hayley Hughes, Airbnb / Source (YouTube)

What are the guidelines?

You can find the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) here. They are a good starting point and break accessibility down in four pillars:

• Perceivable: The content or product that you put out in the world can not be invisible to the way your users might sense it, whether its visual or through their hearing.
• Operable: Anyone can use your product as intended.