How can you communicate the importance of accessibility?

2 Explain the benefits

Accessibility is not only beneficial for people with disabilities, but also for everyone who may face barriers or challenges in using digital products. For example, accessibility can improve usability, readability, performance, SEO, and customer satisfaction. It can also reduce legal risks, increase brand reputation, and expand market reach. By explaining the benefits of accessibility, you can show how it aligns with the goals and values of your stakeholders and users.

3 Use empathy and evidence

Accessibility is not only a technical or functional issue, but also an emotional and human one. To communicate the importance of accessibility, you need to use empathy and evidence. Empathy means putting yourself in the shoes of your users and understanding their pain points, goals, and emotions. Evidence means using data, research, testing, and feedback to support your arguments and recommendations. By combining empathy and evidence, you can create compelling stories and scenarios that illustrate the impact of accessibility on user experience.

4 Involve and educate

Accessibility is not only a responsibility of UX designers, but also a collaboration of multiple roles and disciplines. To communicate the importance of accessibility, you need to involve and educate your clients, colleagues, and users. Involvement means inviting them to participate in the design process, such as co-creating personas, conducting user research, reviewing prototypes, and testing solutions. Education means sharing best practices, guidelines, resources, and tools that can help them learn and apply accessibility principles and techniques.

5 Demonstrate and iterate

Accessibility is not only a theory or a concept, but also a practice and a result. To communicate the importance of accessibility, you need to demonstrate and iterate your design solutions. Demonstration means showing how your design works for different users, devices, and situations, using methods such as prototypes, simulations, audits, and evaluations. Iteration means improving your design based on feedback, testing, and validation, using methods such as agile, lean, and user-centered design.

6 Celebrate and inspire

Accessibility is not only a challenge or a problem, but also an opportunity and a solution. To communicate the importance of accessibility, you need to celebrate and inspire your achievements and impacts. Celebration means recognizing and rewarding the efforts and outcomes of your team, clients, and users, using methods such as recognition, appreciation, and testimonials. Inspiration means spreading and influencing the awareness and adoption of accessibility, using methods such as storytelling, advocacy, and leadership.