Sam Proulx

" Regulations are design problems, not just technical ones, influencing how we create products and experiences. "

" Confidence is crucial — nobody wants to lose money or receive a product they can’t use, so unclear or unlabeled controls cause people with disabilities to give up faster. "

" Avoid strictly timed interactions because they stress everyone, especially people using screen readers or with cognitive disabilities. "

" Screen curtain blanks the screen for privacy and battery life, so no one can look over my shoulder. "

" We often say don’t make me think. When that’s not possible, reuse and recycle those learnings. "

" If you falsely think you are having the same experience as a native user, you become afraid of accessibility and say it's impossible. "

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

" Android’s accessibility tools started later than Apple’s, so the community is smaller and less documented. "

" There are no screen readers built in for VR/AR yet; accessibility is still considered a hack in these spaces. "

" Accessibility doesn’t stop at the desktop just because you’ve made your desktop website accessible. "

" Compliance is a framework, not just a checklist to tick off. "

" 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. "

" It is very easy to tick all the accessibility checkboxes and still have a poor, ugly, and unhelpful product. "

" Voice control on mobile was developed primarily to support people with disabilities. "

" Nothing about us without us. "

" Mobile screens have forced designers to create simplified interfaces without reducing features. "

" Disability is the only identity that all of us will probably adopt at some point during our lives. "

" With Apple, I could pick up any phone and triple-click the home button and VoiceOver would come on. "

" Two-factor authentication accessibility improves when there are customizable options like text, email, or QR codes. "

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

" The experience of using a screen reader is probably 10 times faster as you become more expert with it. "

" Low vision users often invert colors and use magnification levels as high as 400 percent to reduce eye strain. "

" When you magnify prototypes, they may look blurry, but that’s something to fix in the final website design. "

" Consistency between control labels and prototype instructions matters a lot, because mismatches can cause big problems for alternative navigation. "

" I can’t remember a day when there wasn’t a talking computer in my house. "

" Every piece of assistive technology is highly customized for the individual, so labs often fail to replicate users’ ideal setups. "

" Testing with the tab key is important, but it has nothing to do with a screen reader user’s actual experience. "

" Many magnification tools also have screen reader functions to reduce eye strain and help users. "