I am legally blind, and I live near a busy intersection near Boston. I don’t typically use a cane to get around familiar places, but this intersection is still challenging when drivers don’t observe the walk signals. I wondered if anything might change if I used my cane. Here’s what happened.
Author: Simon Miner
Color contrast in the real world: strategies for accessible text with complex backgrounds
Picking an accessible background color for text is straightforward, but the art of good color contrast gets more nuanced for backdrops with multiple colors and other visual effects. Here’s how to ensure your text and background elements stand out from each other and avoid the most common web accessibility barrier.
Get a taste of how blind people experience the web with Site Unseen
Here’s a primer on the Site Unseen Chrome extension, a tool that helps you appreciate how blind people use the web. Site Unseen enables you to foster empathy for those with vision disabilities, build the case for accessible web design, and test for web accessibility issues.
4 approaches to advocating for accessibility and how they fit together
There are several perspectives from which to advocate for digital accessibility. This post describes four of these approaches and explores how they connect with and compliment each other to strengthen the overall case for accessible websites, apps, and other digital products.
Against Technoableism, or why tech can’t fix my disability
In her book “Against Technoableism,” Ashley Shew explores the intricate and sometimes sinister relationship between technology and disability and how it impacts you and me every day. Here are my key impressions and takeaways.
A non-techie’s guide to choosing accessible color combinations
Insufficient contrast between text and background colors is the most common accessibility issue on the web. However, choosing accessible color combinations doesn’t have to be difficult. Here’s a step-by-step process for doing so that requires zero technical knowledge.
How a trip to the Colorado mountains taught me about dynamic disability
Disability is not static, but fluctuates and zigzags depending on time, environment, circumstance and many other factors. I learned this first-hand when I traveled to the Colorado Rockies.
Here’s a simple recipe for good image alt text
Answering three simple questions about an image can make it easy to create alternative text that’s meaningful and relevant.
Blind Sight: More on how a blind guy learns to play piano
Additional thoughts on how blind people can become proficient at playing the piano.
Your website needs an accessibility statement. Here’s why.
Adding an accessibility statement to your website boosts your brand reputation, reduces legal risk, and more. Learn the fundamentals of setting one up.