Making the world a better place through web design

Presented at WordCamp Orange County 2019. We all know better than to think that design is just about ‘making things look pretty’. But did you ever stop to think about the power you have as a web designer (or developer) to make the world a better place? It’s true! You have the power every single day to help make the world more just and equitable through design thinking and an inclusive mindset. We’ll explore how every person involved in designing and building the web can help lead the way, how to convince others to follow in your footsteps, and how to save yourself from being a plain vanilla designer.

Transcript

1. MAKING THE WORLD A BETTER PLACE THROUGH WEB DESIGN N ATA L I E M A C L E E S @nataliemac digita11y Photo by Juliana Kozoski on Unsplash
2. Accessibility means making the web usable for people with disabilities.
3. Accessibility means making the web usable for people with disabilities.
4. capacity no mobility
6. capacity no mobility elite athletes
7. capacity disability
8. Permanent Temporary Situational
9. Accessibility means making the web usable for people with disabilities.
10. Accessibility means making the web usable for everyone.
11. Accessibility means making the web usable for everyone.
12. Accessibility is an act of charity for marginalized edge cases.
13. Accessibility is a business decision - there must be a ROI.
14. Only developers have to think about accessibility.
15. Accessible websites are boring and ugly.
16. Making a website accessible is difficult and expensive.
17. Accessibility requirements stifle innovation.
18. Accessibility isn't that important because it doesn't impact very many people.
19. Accessibility has a
 PR Problem
20. INCLUSIVE DESIGN
21. Accessibility is an act of charity for marginalized edge cases.
22. Inclusive design is a civil right.
23. Accessibility is a business decision - there must be a ROI.
24. Inclusive design is an investment that always 
 returns dividends.
25. Only developers have to think about accessibility.
26. Everyone needs to think about inclusive design. project managers designers developers content managers site owners business owners marketing ux content editors qa seo social media customer support copy writers branding
27. Accessible websites are boring and ugly.
28. Inclusive design is beautiful and usable.
29. Making a website accessible is difficult and expensive.
30. Inclusive design is built into the process.
31. Accessibility requirements stifle innovation.
32. Inclusive design encourages innovation without barriers.
33. Accessibility isn't that important because it doesn't impact very many people.
34. Inclusive design benefits 
 everyone.
35. Accessibility means making the web usable for everyone.
36. Inclusive design means making the web usable for everyone.
37. We are failing.
38. FORTUNE 100
39. 815,600 accessibility issues identified
40. WebAIM Million
41. 97.8% had identifiable accessibility issues
42. It's not just me.
43. It's all of us.
44. ...all of us who build the web collectively decided that we could ignore some people's needs so that the work could be done faster. WINSTON HEARN
45. Our lives are digital.
46. We are leaving people behind.
47. The web industry has collectively exercised its power to state that disabled people do not belong here. WINSTON HEARN
48. What kind of world are we building?
49. SOCIAL JUSTICE and CIVIL RIGHTS
50. LEGAL CONSIDERATIONS
51. ...many business owners would be livid to find out that the technology choices their teams are making are actively incurring legal liability. ERIC BAILEY
52. WHERE DO WE GO FROM HERE?
53. 1. Start thinking about websites in terms of what they ask of people.
54. 2. Commit to learning about inclusive design.
55. ...aim to do one thing this week to broaden your understanding of how people use the web, and adapt your design or development practice to incorporate what you’ve learned. ETHAN MARCOTTE
56. WEB ACCESSIBILITY MADE EASY FOR WORDPRESS SUNDAY 10:50 AM JOSEPH LOPRESTE
57. 3. Be an advocate and a gatekeeper.
58. 4. Broaden your thinking about
 diversity.
59. 5. Do something 
 even if it's not the 
 perfect thing.
60. Thank You! Natalie MacLees hiredigitally.com Download presentation slides with resources: https://speakerdeck.com/nataliemac
61. Resources • Accessibility toolkit: https://hiredigitally.com/accessibility-toolkit/ • Make WordPress Accessible: https://make.wordpress.org/accessibility/ • A11y Weekly newsletter: https://a11yweekly.com/ • The A11y Project: https://a11yproject.com/ • Axe Coconut browser extension • Inclusive components: https://inclusive-components.design/
62. Bibliography • https://gomakethings.com/we-are-actively-destroying-the-web/ • https://2019.raleigh.wordcamp.org/session/we-are-the- gatekeepers-compassion-in-web-development/ • https://ericwbailey.design/writing/2019-03-05-fighting-uphill.html • https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20190409005650/en/ • https://webaim.org/projects/million/
63. Bibliography • https://boagworld.com/accessibility/inclusive-design/ • https://boagworld.com/accessibility/accessibility-is-not-what-you- think/ • https://ethanmarcotte.com/wrote/the-web-we-broke/ • Empathy Reifies Disability Stigmas by Liz Jackson: https:// vimeo.com/319388683 • https://www.winstonhearn.com/wrote/2019/perpetuating-harm/
64. Bibliography • https://uxmyths.com/ • http://accessibility.voxmedia.com/ • https://www.disabilitytalent.org/single-post/2018/07/19/Social- Constructs-of-Disability • https://medium.com/homeland-security/the-social-construction-of- disability-999114247359 • https://marcysutton.com/accessibility-is-a-civil-right