Did you know that over a quarter of the world’s population is vision-impaired? Or that 1 in 8 men are colorblind? Or that approximately 15-20% of the global population is neurodivergent?
The statistic above highlights one point: cognitive or physical impairments or disabilities aren’t rare. The problem is that we don’t treat them as common, and that’s the issue with norms. We’re a diverse and large population with extremely distinct needs. Cognitive disabilities and differences intersect our lives more commonly than they don’t.
That’s why, as a business seeking a graphic design subscription service in Santa Clara, San Francisco, and the Bay Area, it’s in your best interests to make your website accessible.
Whether you need graphics for a website or social media, accessibility should become the practice. This is how your website can resonate with each member of your target audience!
In this blog, we’ll delve into the best practices outlined in the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines. And yes, the WCAG principles are more crucial for web design, but surprisingly, they also matter for graphic design.
The WCAG Accessibility Guidelines Graphic Designers Follow
1. Perceivable
Users need to perceive your website’s design. Or know what they are supposed to take from it, whatever their sensory abilities are. Extremely perceivable designs are more inclusive with partial or full vision and/or hearing disabilities.
High perceivable design expands your reach by aiding you in conveying your complete intended message. This means your designer will use appropriate fonts and sizes for a variety of reading needs. It also means paying attention to contrast. For example, designers know dark grey text against a white background is good, but red typography against a green background isn’t!
2. Operable
Operability makes sure that the navigation and features of the design are usable and accessible by everyone, despite the device or physical ability. So, users who depend on voice commands, keyboard navigation, or other assistive technologies can interact with your website.
In this case, a subscription graphic design service in Santa Clara will be designing for the complete spectrum of people. This can include individuals with cognitive or physical disabilities and/or neurodivergent processing styles (ADHD and autism).
3. Understandable
Your website has to be understandable for your target audience. It should also avoid needless complications. A website with straightforward text and no-frills navigation is far more understandable than one with a confusing layout and excessive technical jargon.
Designers will use clear visual cues to make your website more inclusive with people with cognitive impairments or learning disorders. Any subscription for branding and graphic design services would focus on presenting the correct information at the correct time. They will use visuals that resonate with your audience.
4. Robust
Plain language and clear visual cues on your website make it more inclusive for non-native English speakers and people with learning disorders or cognitive impairments.
As a business owner, your focus is on presenting the right information at the right time, using language and visuals that resonate with your audience.
So, what makes a robust design? It’s any design that can be interpreted by most assistive technologies. This means a creative design agency in Santa Clara will make sure the elements on your website are compatible with various devices and platforms, from voice recognition software to screen readers.
Usually, web developers are the ones responsible for robustness. A full-service creative agency would have less responsibility in this case, but they can always take additional measures. They can make sure your website is optimally viewable across devices and frequently test with different tools and browsers.
Accessible design makes the world a better place. And if these guidelines overwhelm you, don’t be! These principles are more intuitive than they initially seem. If you re-read this blog, you will find that you want the same things your users would want. For example, imagine how your healthy eyes might feel if they had to read red text on a bright green background! It’s a dreadful experience for many, disabled or not.
That’s the wonderful thing about accessibility. Disabled users might have more pronounced requirements, but they aren’t that different from the preferences of an average user.
There’s no rush to get this perfect on the first go. If you hire a graphic design subscription service in Santa Clara, like Copa Design, you can take your time to collaborate, learn, and create.
Last words to say
As a business owner striving for accessibility, just remember to stay open to suggestions and keep learning. Also, never forget that the designs that have the most enduring impact are the ones that are for everyone!
