Summary
Many organizations struggle with justifying and prioritizing accessibility. One of the primary reasons is because they’re thinking about accessibility all wrong. Instead of a checklist, a list of legal requirements, or a set of shackles holding designers and developers back, it’s time to start thinking of accessibility as what it is: an opportunity to innovate! In this presentation, Fable will draw from our expertise helping organizations like yours start the accessibility journey, to change the way you think about disability, assistive technology, and accessibility. We will demonstrate that accessible products are more flexible, customizable, and useful for all users. We’ll also show you how accessibility is directly tied to the creation of many of the most exciting and innovative technologies of the last 50 years, and how it’s changed the entire world for everyone. This presentation will inspire you with the information and ideas you need to accelerate your accessibility journey.
Key Insights
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Many features widely used today, like dark mode and voice assistants, originated as accessibility innovations.
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Disability includes permanent, temporary, and situational states that affect everyone at different times.
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One in five people currently experience some form of disability.
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Accessibility requires flexible, customizable designs—not simplified, limited ones.
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Myths that new or complex designs can't be accessible have been disproven repeatedly.
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Diverse teams produce diverse and more inclusive products.
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Designing for edge cases improves the experience for the majority by default.
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Accessibility is a continuous journey, requiring iterative improvement over time.
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Early involvement of users with disabilities in design phases avoids costly retrofits.
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Collecting and properly channeling feedback from users with disabilities is often overlooked but essential.
Notable Quotes
"Everyone already uses accessibility features, whether they realize it or not."
"Accessibility is much wider than we give it credit for; it’s not just assistive devices but things like autocomplete and captions."
"One in five people experience disability right now."
"Temporary and situational disabilities affect all of us at different times in our lives."
"Accessibility requires flexible designs, not limited designs."
"When you design for the edges you get the middle for free."
"Accessibility changes remove barriers and make experiences better for everyone."
"It’s too easy to just tick accessibility checkboxes and end up with ugly, unusable designs."
"Retrofitting accessibility late is difficult, costly, and demoralizing."
"Accessibility is a journey, not a single project; even market leaders aren’t done yet."
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