Sam Proulx

" Mixed methods researchers will need to trust AI for base-level synthesis but still bring human meaning making. "

" If it’s not sold at Amazon or Costco, it’s probably not in my house — not because I love those companies but because of their consistency. "

" Involving people with disabilities from the start reveals impact and usability issues that automated testing simply cannot catch. "

" The secret is that accessibility isn’t hard if everyone takes their small piece of the pie. "

" Confidence is a higher burden in retail because people are giving real money; inaccessible flows cause quick abandonment. "

" When blind users choose between Android and iPhone, they weigh trade-offs between stability and customizability. "

" Browser autofill isn’t just convenience; it removes barriers to purchase for people with physical disabilities. "

" I can’t think of a single screen reader user who uses the default out-of-the-box configuration. "

" When we design for the edges, we get the middle for free. "

" On desktop, users pick varying assistive tools, making replicability of experience difficult; on mobile, the assistive tech is tightly integrated and versioned. "

" Diverse teams create diverse products because we each only understand our own needs. "

" In early computing, all you had to do was intercept text and put it in braille or text-to-speech, because everything was text-based. "

" When you design for the edges, you get the middle for free. "

" You might be thinking about accessibility backwards; start with mobile first, then extend to desktop. "

" Accessibility was considered kind of an inspiring hack, an inspirational rarity. "

" The cognitive load saved by not having to manage security software on mobile phones is a huge accessibility win. "

" It is cheaper and better to do accessibility right the first time than to retrofit and fix later. "

" Accessibility was just a clever trick that some charitable organization or someone who wanted to give back would do almost for fun. "

" Mobile has some of the most mature built-in assistive technology that just comes installed. "

" We move beyond checklist thinking to focus on real needs of real people. "

" When you press a button like an upvote, it’s the developer’s job to make sure the visual state is communicated via ARIA landmarks. "

" If you’re doing research with people with disabilities, consider using the Accessible Usability Scale to get more accurate insights. "

" Fixing problems found for one disability group often helps fix problems for others too. "

" Screen reader users need semantic structure that graphical prototypes typically don’t have, like labeled headings, controls, tables, and landmarks. "

" Consistency is very important so what you learn on one page applies to all pages on that website. "

" Screen reader users scored in the low to mid 50s on our scale while magnification users scored around 70 and alternative navigation users around 60. "

" If you make an app that users only use once a year, don’t expect them to learn dozens of custom shortcuts. "

" Traditional usability labs often force assistive tech users to use unfamiliar setups, creating barriers. "