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
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Disabilities include temporary and situational conditions, not only permanent impairments.
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Accessible design systems combine code with standards, documentation, and training to ensure consistent implementation.
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Color contrast must meet at least a 4.5:1 ratio for readability; misuse of red and green impacts colorblind users significantly.
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Screen readers require meaningful, context-sensitive alt text or null alt when images are purely decorative to speed navigation.
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ARIA attributes allow accessibility improvements without changing visual design, debunking the myth that accessible equals ugly or dumbed down.
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Open source design systems encourage multi-company collaboration and legal sharing to improve accessibility across industries.
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User research with people with disabilities differs fundamentally from general user research and is critical to accessible design.
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Accessibility lawsuits in the US are growing rapidly, with some companies facing multiple suits due to backsliding on compliance.
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Disability is often excluded from corporate diversity, inclusion, and equity programs, hindering accessibility progress.
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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."
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