Much more than a box to tick, accessible design is good business 101. In some sectors, it’s even the law. Legalities aside, accessibility is step one in ensuring your content reaches as many people as possible.
And while improved brand reputation and retention rates are a perk, nobody is here to pat your back and sing your praises. Afterall, accessible design is plain common sense – so isn’t it time we all got on board?
Creativity vs accessibility
We get it. It can be easy to see any kind of constraint as a creative drain, but truthfully, all good design should serve a function, meet a need, and ultimately make a product understandable.
The harsh truth designers learn early on is that big ideas and aha! moments only truly work if they’re accessible to everyone. All other experiments can stay in Slack.
At maclean, we use accessible design as the building blocks of anything we create, and from there we get creative. This way, we know our work not only looks good, but it makes sense to everyone.
So rather than seeing accessibility rules as restrictive shackles, it helps to see them as helpful signposts for exploring new ideas or a friendly challenge for your next design project. Lovely.
Levels of accessibility
Excuse us while we get technical.
In the land of webpages, there are three levels of conformance brands can meet, and each comes with their own specific criteria. Labelled in the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) as A, AA and AAA, they range from the most basic to the most complex.
Depending, of course, on the legal requirements of your industry, most brand websites fall into the AA category and are broadly accessible to a wide audience. Unsure if yours fits the bill? Our designers have expertise in finding the right balance for your brand needs. (Thank us later.)
Questions all designers should ask themselves
Whether it’s direct mail or social ads, website assets or POS, accessible design is important at every outpost, so to ensure we cross our t’s and dot our i’s, here’s a checklist we hold up to any creative project:
1. Is this an accessible use of colour?
Is there enough contrast between elements on the page? Could someone with colour-blindness still understand your design?
2. Is this a good choice of typeface?
As a rule, decorative fonts should be kept to a minimum for maximum accessibility. Have fun with your headline but keep it real in the body copy.
3. Is this a good point size?
For comfort and readability, larger point sizes are essential. This should go hand in hand with decisions on font weight, line spacing and colour contrast.
4. Is this imagery accessible?
When placing text over an image, it needs to be as clear as possible with a high contrast between elements. On web pages, alternative text should be provided for all images so screen readers can pick them up.
5. Do these UI elements help or hinder?
Digital interactions should always feel seamless and natural, so good UI design should always be accessible. How do your page elements flow, and are they easy for everyone to navigate?
6. Is this right for this channel?
Bear in mind different platforms and formats have their own unique accessibility requirements, so it’s important to ensure your content translates across the board.
Navigating the world of accessible design? You don’t need to do it solo – our experienced team of strategists and creatives are here to help your brand get up to speed. Get in touch today.