Happy Monday, UI Collective!

Sorry for a couple weeks without a newsletter, but we’re back now! When we talk about great design, we often focus on aesthetics, usability, and innovation. But there’s one crucial factor that separates good design from truly impactful design: accessibility.

Accessibility isn’t just about compliance—it’s about creating experiences that work for everyone, regardless of ability. Let’s dive into why accessibility matters, how to integrate it into your workflow, and what small changes can make a big impact. We just launched a new Youtube video on Accessibility in Figma: Beyond the Basics. Check it out using the button below ⬇️

Why Accessibility Matters

Designing for accessibility means designing for real people. Nearly 1 in 4 adults in the U.S. live with some form of disability, whether it’s visual, auditory, cognitive, or motor-related. When we exclude accessibility from our process, we unintentionally limit our audience and create barriers to engagement.

But here’s the thing: accessible design benefits everyone. Think of voice commands, dark mode, and captions—originally designed as accessibility features, but now widely used by all. Prioritizing accessibility makes products more flexible, more inclusive, and ultimately, more effective.

Beyond user experience, there’s also a legal and financial risk. Many companies have faced lawsuits due to inaccessible digital experiences. Brands that proactively invest in accessibility don’t just avoid penalties—they build stronger customer relationships and increase engagement with a wider audience.

Where to Start: The Core Principles

If accessibility feels overwhelming, start with these four core principles from the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG):

Accessibility must be perceivable—can all users access the content in a way that makes sense to them? This means ensuring proper color contrast, adding alternative text for images, and including captions for videos. If a user can’t see or hear, they should still be able to engage with all critical content.

It must also be operable—can all users navigate the interface easily? Keyboard navigation, focus states, and avoiding timed interactions all help create a more usable experience. If a user can’t use a mouse, they shouldn’t feel locked out of important functions.

Your design should be understandable—is the content clear and readable? Using plain language, predictable layouts, and helpful error messaging makes a huge difference. If content is too complex or inconsistent, it leads to unnecessary frustration and abandonment.

Lastly, it must be robust—does it work across different devices and assistive technologies? Ensuring compatibility with screen readers, speech recognition, and other tools allows your design to remain accessible as technology evolves.

Practical Ways to Integrate Accessibility

Making designs accessible doesn’t have to be overwhelming. Small, thoughtful changes can create a major impact. For example, testing your designs with a screen reader like VoiceOver (Mac) or NVDA (Windows) can reveal gaps in usability that might otherwise go unnoticed. Running a quick contrast check using the WebAIM Contrast Checker ensures that text remains readable for users with low vision or color blindness.

Another simple but effective step is navigating your designs using only a keyboard. Can you access everything using just the tab key? If not, refining your focus states and interactive elements can make a huge difference.

Alt text for images is another area where accessibility is often overlooked. Every image should have meaningful alt text that describes its function or purpose. This allows screen readers to interpret visual elements effectively.

Even the way error messages are written can make a difference. Instead of vague text like “Invalid input,” opt for guidance like “Your password must include at least 8 characters.” Small tweaks like these significantly improve user experience.

Common Accessibility Pitfalls to Avoid

Even well-intentioned designs can fall short. One of the biggest mistakes? Relying solely on color to convey information. Colorblind users may not distinguish between red and green error states, so pairing color with text or icons is essential.

Auto-playing animations and flashing visuals can also be problematic, particularly for users with motion sensitivity. Providing an option to reduce motion in settings is an easy way to accommodate these needs.

Forms are another common problem area. Overcomplicated forms with unclear labels, improper spacing, or missing instructions can make them frustrating or impossible to complete. Keeping forms simple, structured, and clearly labeled improves usability for everyone.

Lastly, unclear focus states can make navigation frustrating for keyboard users. Ensuring that interactive elements are visibly highlighted when selected makes a site much easier to use without a mouse.

Beyond Compliance: Designing with Empathy

Accessibility isn’t just about following guidelines—it’s about designing with empathy. The best way to understand accessibility needs is to listen to real users. If possible, conduct usability testing with people who rely on assistive technologies and incorporate their feedback.

Companies leading the way in accessibility—Apple, Microsoft, and Airbnb—don’t treat accessibility as a compliance checkbox. Instead, they see it as an opportunity to create more innovative and user-friendly products. When accessibility is considered from the beginning, the entire design process benefits. It leads to more adaptable, scalable, and thoughtful design solutions.

One thing I’ve learned from working with accessibility in design is that small, intentional decisions can have an enormous impact. Adding keyboard navigation, adjusting color contrast, or simplifying navigation structures might seem like minor adjustments, but for someone with a disability, they can be the difference between frustration and usability.

Your Next Steps

Accessibility is a journey, not a one-time fix. This week, challenge yourself to implement one accessibility improvement in your designs. Whether it’s refining color contrast, improving keyboard navigation, or writing better alt text, small steps add up.

Want to go deeper? Check out this Web Accessibility Annotation Kit to integrate accessibility checks into your design workflow.

Let’s make design better for everyone—because inclusion isn’t optional. It’s essential.

Keep designing for impact,
Kirk McNeill