3 Simple Ways to Design More Accessibly

Good design is grounded in care. When we take on a design project, we root ourselves in designing for all kinds of minds and abilities. Accessibility doesn't come second. While we relish the process of making content beautiful, we also strive to make it functional to as wide an audience as possible. Beauty and function going hand in hand is an opportunity, not a hurdle. In the age of information overload, it’s good for all of us when content is clearer, and it’s a necessity for the nearly 30% of people living in the US with a disability. 

Our work is guided by an ongoing relearning of how to optimize content for users of all abilities. The best way to understand how design decisions affect daily lives is to learn from people engaging with it, including those with disabilities. Read on to see the top three ways you can fix common shortfalls in design accessibility, plus a collection of some of our favorite leaders and resources on this topic.

Color Contrast

Poor contrast between text and its background runs rampant in the digital design world. It’s particularly problematic for users with color blindness, not to mention troublesome for everyone’s cognitive load. Roughly 13 million people in the United States are colorblind. When a visitor to your website or viewer of your social post has to spend time deciphering your text instead of digesting the information itself, you might compromise comprehension and lose a fan or customer. 

Low color contrast is also bad for printed pieces. Imagine printing your project in grayscale. If you can’t make out the words or images, you haven’t chosen an accessible color pairing. Number-loving designers, keep your ratios at 4.5:1 at least. You can also use a color palette checker.

To get a sense of what a person with colorblindness experiences, check out this Color Blindness Simulator. It lets you upload graphics to see how they appear to a viewer with color blindness. 

Font Size & Text Hierarchy

Who is your target audience? Most adults and elders prefer printed fonts to be at least 14 pt. We often get compliments on the program booklets we design for conferences because we choose generous font sizes. “Wow! I can actually see it!” is a common refrain we are proud of. 

When considering font size, it’s also important to think about where your audience engages with your material. Social media platforms let you zoom in on graphics, but once again, you might lose folks if they have to work hard to see your content.

A cousin of font size is text hierarchy. This is a text layout method that uses varying font sizes and weights to guide our eyes and brains where to go next. While it usually enhances a piece's aesthetics, it also helps reduce decision fatigue.

All Caps Writing

Typing in all caps is a stylistic choice that has periodic moments of popularity. We get that it can look cool or edgy, but at the end of the day, it slows most of us down and presents extra trouble for dyslexic and neurodivergent readers. 

Our eyes and brains depend on varied letter sizes to register the characters we’re looking at. Generally speaking, all caps are okay in short titles, but beyond that, it leaves people behind. If your whole website is in all caps, you have a bit of work ahead of you to set it right. If you’re just getting started, it’s easy to make the right choice.

Let’s Keep Learning Together

As we mentioned, designing for all minds and abilities is an ongoing practice of learning. It involves staying open to feedback from all voices and actively seeking information from those affected most. Here are some of the folks and groups we follow to tend to our learning practice.

LaVant Consulting: This consulting group inspires us with their commitment to (and ability to articulate) their accessibility practices. They transform mindsets and systems around disability and access. Check out their Accessibility Statement page to start your deep dive into best practices rooted in “care, collaboration, and lived experience.”

Karwai Pun’s Posters: Together with the team at Home Office Digital, Karwai Pun created a series of posters on dos and don’ts for design accessibility for the UK government. We think these posters are a fantastic foundation and reference for making your work more accessible.

Disabled Made Content: This document, created by Jessica Oddi, is another wonderful resource for connecting with disabled designers. 

Who are you following to deepen your understanding and develop best practices around accessibility? We’re always looking for new resources, so feel free to share in the comments!