Advocacy and education are crucial for building support for accessibility and creating a foundation for accessibility work within companies.
Incorporating accessibility into design systems can be a powerful tool for creating accessible products at scale, but neglecting accessibility in design systems can lead to systemic issues across an organization's products.
Deep dives
Fred's journey into accessibility
Fred shares his personal journey into working on accessibility. After being diagnosed with retinitis pigmentosa, he developed a curiosity about the accessibility of digital products. He started his accessibility work at Babylon Health, where he noticed a lack of attention to accessibility in their products. Recognizing the importance of accessibility, he approached the design and engineering teams to address the issue, thus beginning his journey with accessibility.
Building awareness and support for accessibility
Fred discusses the need for advocacy and education to build support for accessibility. He emphasizes the importance of understanding the audience and tailoring the conversation around accessibility to their needs. Fred also highlights the importance of education and training, including sessions led by external trainers and dividing them into different levels based on each team's needs. By starting with advocacy and education, companies can create a foundation for accessibility work.
The role of design systems in accessibility
Fred explains the potential benefits and challenges of incorporating accessibility into design systems. He emphasizes that design systems can be a useful tool for creating accessible products at scale if proper attention is paid to accessibility during the design system's creation. However, he warns that neglecting accessibility in design systems can lead to systemic issues across an organization's products. Fred highlights the importance of education, documentation, and setting expectations within the design system to ensure accessibility is sustained.
Design systems and product teams' responsibilities
Fred discusses the shared responsibilities between design system teams and product teams regarding accessibility. He emphasizes that design system components alone do not guarantee an accessible product. Product teams have a responsibility to test components and patterns in the context of their products to achieve an end-to-end accessible experience. Fred also stresses the importance of collaborating with accessibility experts, involving them in design reviews, and providing documentation that clearly outlines the responsibilities of design systems and product teams.
How can design systems help us to create more accessible digital products and services, and what are the limits to that? In this episode I talk to design systems manager, accessibility advocate, and good friend of mine, Fred Warburton.
Fred shares his experience with sight loss, and how that motivated him to learn about digital accessibility, and create meaningful change.