The Importance of Accessible Design Systems
Summary
A design system is a set of repeatable components and standards guiding the use of those components. Standards can come in the form of documentation, videos, blogs, discussion channels, meetups and office hours just to name a few. A design system may be built internally within an organization, or there are hundreds of open source design systems that can be downloaded and used. However, only a small percentage of those open source design systems are set up such that they can be successfully implemented in a manner that results in software that is accessible to people with disabilities who use assistive technology to interact with technology. This talk will discuss the importance of accessible design systems and a high level overview of the ten best known open source design systems.
Key Insights
-
•
Disabilities include temporary and situational conditions, not only permanent impairments.
-
•
Accessible design systems combine code with standards, documentation, and training to ensure consistent implementation.
-
•
Color contrast must meet at least a 4.5:1 ratio for readability; misuse of red and green impacts colorblind users significantly.
-
•
Screen readers require meaningful, context-sensitive alt text or null alt when images are purely decorative to speed navigation.
-
•
ARIA attributes allow accessibility improvements without changing visual design, debunking the myth that accessible equals ugly or dumbed down.
-
•
Open source design systems encourage multi-company collaboration and legal sharing to improve accessibility across industries.
-
•
User research with people with disabilities differs fundamentally from general user research and is critical to accessible design.
-
•
Accessibility lawsuits in the US are growing rapidly, with some companies facing multiple suits due to backsliding on compliance.
-
•
Disability is often excluded from corporate diversity, inclusion, and equity programs, hindering accessibility progress.
-
•
Future accessibility advances rely on unbiased AI and personalized interfaces that remember user accessibility preferences, creating curb-cut-like benefits for all.
Notable Quotes
"Product owners want everybody to be able to use their software, but if it isn't accessible, you're effectively discriminating against disabled users."
"Situational disabilities like glare or temporary injuries affect a large portion of your audience and need to be considered in design."
"You want to code once and reuse components consistently for better UX; inconsistent skip-to-content links are a classic accessibility failure."
"Auto captions on YouTube struggle with accents and technical terms, so manual or human-reviewed captioning is essential for accuracy."
"Icons are not just decoration, they convey information and must meet WCAG color and size guidelines to be usable."
"Accessibility isn't about dumbing down interfaces; except for color, most guidelines do not require changing the look or behavior of components."
"Open source lets companies like Dell, IBM, and the UK government collaborate legally and share accessibility improvements."
"94% of companies exclude disability from their diversity and inclusion initiatives, a major missed opportunity to advance accessibility."
"Employees are now suing employers for inaccessible tools, with million-dollar verdicts even in conservative courts."
"Personalization of accessibility settings will be the next big shift, letting users avoid repeated microaggressions like repeatedly enabling captions."
Or choose a question:
More Videos
"To be anti-racist, you must be trauma-informed; to be trauma-informed, you must commit to anti-racist work."
Rachael Dietkus, LCSWTrauma-Responsive Design: Reimagining the Future of Design Now
December 10, 2021
"AI removes gates for designers and engineers, but designers gain more because AI helps them ship and iterate faster."
Robin CannonAI means your design system can't suck anymore
September 9, 2026
"Mirroring content by repeating back what people say helps them understand their own ideas better."
Gina MendoliaTherapists, Coaches, and Grandmas: Techniques for Service Design in Complex Systems
December 3, 2024
"With great customizability comes great complication."
Sam ProulxUnderstanding Screen Readers on Mobile: How And Why to Learn from Native Users
October 2, 2023
"Thank you to all our sponsors; this entire conference would not be possible without you."
Bria AlexanderOpening Remarks
September 29, 2021
"We must talk like business people, not just designers."
Stephen PollardClosing Keynote: Getting giants to dance - what can we learn from designing large and complex public infrastructure?
November 7, 2017
"The future is multimodal because humans are multimodal."
Cheryl PlatzDemystifying Multimodal Design: The Design Practice You Didn't Know You're Doing
April 4, 2024
"Users with physical challenges often can see and interpret prototypes but may need help clicking through them because assistive tech may not support the prototype system."
Sam ProulxPrototype Reviews, People With Disabilities, and You
October 1, 2021
"Now design ops teams must be fit for purpose. We should meet the needs of the work we have to do."
Dominique WardThe Most Exciting Time for DesignOps is Now
September 8, 2022
