Accessibility
Building
Creating inclusive products by making accessibility a core design practice
As a mindset
Aa
Product Manager
Developer
Designer
DURATION
2024-Present
MY ROLE
Research, UX strategy, Visual design
COLLABORATORS
Designers, Engineers, Product lead
BACKGROUND
A lot of product design teams treat accessibility as an afterthought, only tackling it when problems come up or to check a compliance box. But by adopting an accessibility-first mindset, teams can design products that work for everyone from the start, breaking down barriers and making things easier to use for all.
Shifting the way product teams work from a compliance-driven approach to one where accessibility is a natural, continuous practice in product design
Accessibility is for Everyone, Not Just Disabled people
Months ago I injured my right hand playing badminton, making simple tasks like brushing my teeth, getting dressed, and using my laptop incredibly difficult. During that time, I realized that disability isn’t always permanent—it can happen to anyone at any time. This experience sparked my interest in accessibility, leading me to complete an online professional course and dive deeper into inclusive design.
Why is accessibility important?
The accessibility pull
Besides our usual product roadmap tasks, we get to choose design initiatives each quarter. I decided to pitch the idea to bring accessibility into our design process to my manager.
In the past we had received a few accessibility expectations from our European clients, emphasizing both compliance and usability. I leveraged that and uncoverd our products’ accessibility challenges — digging into support tickets, internal discussions, USAT feedback, and an accessibility audit which I did using accessibility tools. All this helped us build a strong case to secure leadership buy-in to kick off the project.
Defining our accessibility goal
In the past we had received a few accessibility expectations from our European clients, emphasizing both compliance and usability. I leveraged that and uncoverd our products’ accessibility challenges — digging into support tickets, internal discussions, USAT feedback, and an accessibility audit which I did using accessibility tools. All this helped us build a strong case to secure leadership buy-in to kick off the project.
Key design considerations
After going through the WCAG guidelines, I put together an accessibility checklist for my stakeholders, sorted by WCAG levels. It was a handy way to keep track of progress, check the status, and identify what resources we needed to get achieve compliance.
The accessibility playbook
I created accessibility documentation for our team, centered on designing with accessibility in mind using four key pillars: Visual, Content, Interactivity, and Navigation. It also covered the right plugins and tools to use, along with clear best practices to help designers make more inclusive decisions.
You can view in detail here
Empower, Design, Include: Accessibility Training
I led accessibility training with an engineer for designers, engineers, and product teams, covering WCAG principles, common barriers, and practical techniques to integrate accessibility into design and development workflows for building inclusive, compliant products.
Accessible by Design: Evolving Our Design System
We decided to update our design system to embed accessibility into our workflow because it’s the single source of truth for design components and patterns. Based on the gaps found in the accessibility audit during the research phase, we identified which UI components needed updates to meet WCAG 2.2 accessibility guidelines.
The biggest challenge with the new guidelines was adjusting the contrast ratio for our buttons while preserving brand identity. I collaborated with other designers to explore and test multiple color options to meet accessibility standards across light and dark modes.
While I started with designing all other components at a zoomed-in level, I quickly switched over to trying them out on existing product pages to get a sense of the overall look and feel.
I reviewed updated component options with design, engineering, and product teams, ensuring a balance between aesthetics, feasibility, and brand identity. By gathering feedback and using polls, we finalized designs that uphold accessibility standards while staying true to our brand’s visual language.
Documentation that Connects Design and Code
I realized the importance of solid documentation to support accessible designs, keeping designers and developers aligned on component usage and behavior. I also created an accessibility checklist to streamline engineering handoffs and build inclusive, consistent experiences.
Quick Wins: Early Outcomes
We took a phased approach to be WCAG compliant, starting with color contrast and target size implementation to enhance readability and interaction. Three months after launch we observed:
30%
decrease in accessibility related support tickets
1
new customer deal influenced by highlighting our commitment to accessibility
70%
adoption of design handoffs having accessibility checklist and annotations
What’s next?
We've built a strong foundation & mindset for accessibility, improving our design process, but this remains an ongoing effort. As we enhance more design components and keyboard navigation, we continue strengthening WCAG compliance and progressing toward full EAA compliance.
Whether you're a potential co-worker, a fellow creative, or simply a curious soul, I'd love to hear from you!
Drop me a Hi and let's get the conversation started.
arushi.aa13@gmail.com
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Copyright 2025 - Made with love by Arushi Arora |
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