Accessibility shouldn’t be an afterthought. Yet, a recent WCAG 2.1 audit of Fortune 100 websites uncovered a staggering 815,600 accessibility issues, mostly at the foundational Level A. Additionally, a report by AudioEye found that 93% of domains feature at least one page with inaccessible images.
In today’s digital landscape, accessibility in design is no longer a buzzword—it’s a fundamental right. Everyone deserves equal access to digital content, yet many designs still fall short.
That’s where Venngage comes in. Our user-friendly platform, equipped with built-in accessibility features, simplifies the creation of inclusive visuals for everyone. In a recent episode of the Design Domination Podcast, Venngage CEO Eugene Woo discussed with Colleen Gratzer, Chief Creative Officer and Accessibility Specialist at Gratzer Graphics how Venngage is leading the way in accessible design with our innovative tools.
Click to jump ahead:
- Challenges in accessible design
- Venngage’s commitment to accessibility
- Key accessibility features that make Venngage suitable for non-professional designers
- Educating users about accessibility
Challenges in accessible design
Ensuring that all users, regardless of their abilities, can access and interact with digital content is no longer just a good to have in today’s digital landscape. However, many organizations and designers face significant challenges in creating accessible designs, typically because of:
Lack of awareness
One major challenge is the lack of awareness among designers and organizations about the importance of accessibility. Many still view accessibility as a secondary concern rather than a fundamental aspect of design. This lack of awareness can stem from:
- Education and training: Accessibility is often not a core part of design education, leading to a knowledge gap among new designers.
- Perception of audience: Some organizations underestimate the number of users with disabilities and fail to recognize that accessibility benefits a wider audience.
- Business priorities: In the rush to meet business goals and deadlines, accessibility is often sidelined and seen as an additional cost rather than a priority.
Lack of understanding of accessibility requirements
Even when there is awareness, there can be a lack of understanding about what accessibility involves. Accessibility requirements are detailed and complex, covering various disabilities such as visual, auditory, cognitive and motor impairments. Common challenges include:
- Diverse needs: Accessibility standards, like the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG), can be overwhelming. Designers must consider various needs, such as screen reader compatibility, color contrast and keyboard navigation.
- Continuous learning: Accessibility is an evolving field with new guidelines and technologies. Keeping up-to-date requires continuous learning.
- Misconceptions: Many misconceptions about accessibility, such as it only benefits a small group or significantly compromising design aesthetics, can hinder effective implementation.
Remediation of existing content
Remediating existing content to meet accessibility standards is another significant challenge. Many organizations have large amounts of content created without accessibility in mind. This remediation can be daunting and time-consuming due to:
- Volume of content: Organizations with extensive digital archives face the overwhelming task of auditing and updating large volumes of content.
- Technical complexity: Remediation often requires technical skills, such as coding knowledge, to implement necessary changes like adding alt text and fixing navigation issues.
- Resource allocation: Allocating time, personnel and budget to remediation projects can be challenging, especially when balancing other projects and priorities.
Limited access to easy-to-use accessibility tools
Despite the availability of various accessibility tools, many find it challenging to access and use these tools effectively. Especially for non professional designers and small businesses, some common limitations include:
- Usability of tools: Some accessibility tools are complex and not user-friendly, requiring specialized knowledge to operate effectively.
- Integration with existing workflows: Tools that do not integrate seamlessly with existing design and development workflows can create additional steps and disruptions.
- Cost: High-quality accessibility tools can be expensive, posing a barrier for smaller organizations or individual designers.
- Comprehensive solutions: Finding tools that cover all aspects of accessibility can be difficult. Designers often need to use multiple tools to address different issues, which can be cumbersome and inefficient.
“It’s a painstaking process to have to do that yourself. I know because I’ve had to do that. Any service I use, if something’s not accessible, I’ve got to recode. I’ve had to recode email templates to be accessible.
I’ve re-coded themes to be accessible on my site. I mean, it’s just a lot of work. It’s a painstaking process. I’ve also hacked the code of plugins to make them more accessible. I’ve had to do a lot of this stuff. I’ve even had to retag documents without having access to a source file because I do remediate documents.” Colleen Gratzer, Chief Creative Officer and Accessibility Specialist at Gratzer Graphics
Colleen Gratzer, Chief Creative Officer and Accessibility Specialist at Gratzer Graphics
Venngage’s commitment to accessibility
Having been around the design tool market for 12 years, Venngage’s journey in accessibility started around three years ago with the realization that the demand for accessible designs is growing.
“One of the requests that we had frequently was: “Hey, can we download an accessible PDF?” “How do I add Alt-text?” “Do you have an accessibility checker?”
It was essentially a recurring theme, and it’s one of those groups of things that we didn’t have that we looked at and go like, gosh, we should look into this.
The more we looked into it, the more it made sense, I was like, yeah, we should make our documents more accessible.”
Eugene Woo, CEO at Venngage
Committed to making accessible designs easy for everyone, Venngage’s tool is designed to be accessible not only to professional designers but also to those with little to no design experience.
For designers, the complexity of accessibility guidelines can be demotivating for them to get into accessibility. Venngage’s interface includes tooltips and explanations for accessibility features, making it easy for users to understand and apply best practices.
Unlike some other tools where accessibility checks are an afterthought or require external plugins, Venngage integrates these features into the core design process. That way, users can make sure designs are accessible from the get-go, instead of trying to fix things after.
“You’re absolutely right it’s not just designers. Anyone in general, someone writing a document in general… If you have to teach them about accessibility, they’re just going like, why do I have to spend this much time?
So one of the key sorts of design principles that we adopted was we have to kind of design this sort of like universal design, an accessible design where we don’t want to have to teach someone a whole new platform, a whole new way to design. We want to try and integrate accessibility as much as possible as part of the design process.”
Eugene Woo, CEO at Venngage
Key accessibility features that make Venngage suitable for non-professional designers
Designed with non professional designers in mind, Venngage’s accessibility features help simplify the process of designing accessible content. With features like automatic alt-text suggestions and real-time accessibility checks, you can focus on your content, knowing that accessibility is covered.
“I think the other thing that we recognize is, yes, there are a lot of plugins. You can like put a bunch of plugins, and it probably will work with a lot of the Adobe tools.
We just wanted everything on the platform. We might also just add all of it as you’re designing to make it easier, because I think most designers will not add a plugin, unless they really need it in some way and they’re really educated on it.
One of our goals was we wanted to make assess… We wanted to sort of also educate people who didn’t know about accessibility about accessibility.”
Eugene Woo, CEO at Venngage
User-friendly interface
One of Venngage’s standout features is its intuitive interface. Designed with the non-designer in mind, the platform allows users to effortlessly place and adjust elements within their designs. This simplicity ensures that anyone can create professional-looking visuals without a steep learning curve.
Pre-made accessible templates
The platform provides a wide range of pre-made accessible templates for various purposes, including infographics, presentations, reports and more. These professionally crafted templates serve as a solid foundation, allowing users to customize and personalize their designs without starting from scratch.
Built-in accessibility checker
Venngage offers a built-in accessibility checker that evaluates your design against various accessibility standards. This tool identifies potential issues related to color contrast, alt-text, headings and other critical elements. By using this checker, non-designers can quickly identify and rectify accessibility problems.
Contrast checker
Venngage includes a contrast checker that helps users ensure their text and background color combinations meet accessibility standards. This tool highlights any issues with contrast ratios, making it easy for non-professional designers to adjust their designs for better readability and compliance with guidelines such as WCAG (Web Content Accessibility Guidelines).
AI Alt-text
Accurate alt-text is essential for screen reader users to understand image content. Venngage’s AI-powered alt-text generator provides suggested descriptions for images, saving users time and effort. While it’s essential to review and refine the generated text, this feature is a valuable starting point.
Reading order
The order in which screen reader users experience content is crucial. Venngage allows users to control the reading order of elements within a design, ensuring that information is presented logically. This feature is essential for creating a seamless experience for people who rely on screen readers.
Color blindness simulator
Venngage’s color blindness simulator enables users to preview their designs as they might appear to individuals with color vision deficiencies. By understanding how color combinations impact different users, designers can make adjustments to improve overall accessibility.
Design elements and assets
Venngage offers a vast library of icons, images, and illustrations that users can incorporate into their designs. This extensive library helps non-professionals create visually appealing content without needing to source or create their own design assets.
Educational tooltips and guidance
Venngage offers in-depth educational resources to help users improve their design skills. Tooltips and explanations guide users through the design process, offering insights into design principles and best practices. Check out our accessibility blogs for more insights on how to make informed decisions and create more effective visuals.
Educating users about accessibility
While there’s growing awareness of accessibility, many organizations still rely heavily on remediation specialists to address issues after a product or content is created. This approach is not only time-consuming and costly but also counterproductive.
It’s common for companies to wait until something’s finished to check if it’s accessible. People are hesitant to learn about accessibility because it seems complicated and like extra work. But it’s time we change that.
“Larger organizations do have an inaccessibility team. They do have PDF remediators, all kinds of remediators. They’re like, “It’s not my job. I’ll just design whatever I need to design.”
I’ll let the remediators deal with it. And, you know, even though it’s a lot more, it’s a lot more work. It takes a lot more time, it’s probably a lot more expensive as well.”
Eugene Woo, CEO at Venngage
By prioritizing accessibility from the start, organizations can save time, money, and headaches. Building accessibility into your design process ensures everyone can use your content. Plus, it fosters a more inclusive workplace.
Investing in accessibility training for your team is also crucial. By equipping everyone with basic accessibility knowledge, organizations can create a more inclusive environment and produce high-quality, accessible content.
Ready to make your designs more inclusive? Watch the full conversation between Eugene and Colleen on Venngage’s Accessible Infographic Creator here:
