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
   

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2. Accessibility
   means making the
   web usable for
   people with disabilities.
   

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3. Accessibility
   means making the
   web usable for
   people with disabilities.
   

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4. capacity
   no mobility
   

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6. capacity
   no mobility elite athletes
   

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7. capacity
   disability
   

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8. Permanent Temporary Situational
   

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9. Accessibility
   means making the
   web usable for
   people with disabilities.
   

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10. Accessibility
    means making the
    web usable for
    everyone.
    

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11. Accessibility
    means making the
    web usable for
    everyone.
    

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12. Accessibility is an act of
    charity for marginalized
    edge cases.
    

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13. Accessibility is a
    business decision -
    there must be a ROI.
    

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14. Only developers have
    to think about
    accessibility.
    

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15. Accessible websites are
    boring and ugly.
    

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16. Making a website
    accessible is difficult
    and expensive.
    

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17. Accessibility
    requirements stifle
    innovation.
    

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18. Accessibility isn't that
    important because it
    doesn't impact very
    many people.
    

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19. Accessibility has a

    PR Problem
    

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20. INCLUSIVE
    DESIGN
    

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21. Accessibility is an act of
    charity for marginalized
    edge cases.
    

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22. Inclusive design is a
    civil right.
    

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23. Accessibility is a
    business decision -
    there must be a ROI.
    

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24. Inclusive design is an
    investment that
    always 

    returns dividends.
    

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25. Only developers have
    to think about
    accessibility.
    

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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
    

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27. Accessible websites are
    boring and ugly.
    

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28. Inclusive design is
    beautiful and usable.
    

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29. Making a website
    accessible is difficult
    and expensive.
    

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30. Inclusive design is
    built into the process.
    

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31. Accessibility
    requirements stifle
    innovation.
    

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32. Inclusive design
    encourages
    innovation without
    barriers.
    

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33. Accessibility isn't that
    important because it
    doesn't impact very
    many people.
    

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34. Inclusive design
    benefits 

    everyone.
    

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35. Accessibility
    means making the
    web usable for
    everyone.
    

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36. Inclusive design
    means making the
    web usable for
    everyone.
    

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37. We are failing.
    

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38. FORTUNE 100
    

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39. 815,600
    accessibility issues identified
    

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40. WebAIM Million
    

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41. 97.8%
    had identifiable accessibility issues
    

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42. It's not just me.
    

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43. It's all of us.
    

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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
    

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45. Our lives are digital.
    

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46. We are
    leaving people behind.
    

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47. The web industry has
    collectively exercised its
    power to state that disabled
    people do not belong here.
    WINSTON HEARN
    

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48. What kind of world are we building?
    

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49. SOCIAL JUSTICE
    and
    CIVIL RIGHTS
    

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50. LEGAL
    CONSIDERATIONS
    

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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
    

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52. WHERE
    DO WE GO
    FROM HERE?
    

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53. 1.
    Start thinking about
    websites in terms of
    what they ask of
    people.
    

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54. 2.
    Commit to learning
    about inclusive
    design.
    

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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
    

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56. WEB ACCESSIBILITY
    MADE EASY FOR
    WORDPRESS
    SUNDAY 10:50 AM
    JOSEPH LOPRESTE
    

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57. 3.
    Be an advocate and
    a gatekeeper.
    

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58. 4.
    Broaden your
    thinking about

    diversity.
    

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59. 5.
    Do something 

    even if it's not the 

    perfect thing.
    

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60. Thank You!
    Natalie MacLees
    hiredigitally.com
    Download presentation slides with resources:
    https://speakerdeck.com/nataliemac
    

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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/
    

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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/
    

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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/
    

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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
    

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