Accessibility Resources

Knowledge Unit 2: Accessibility Design

Accessibility Design Resources


Quick Links to Topics


Design guidelines and knowledge



Deque Accessibility Compliance Overview

Deque Systems is a digital accessibility company specialized in accessibility tools, services, and training. This page mentions laws and guidelines that are encountered in software/technology when it comes to accessibility.

Is Your Website ADA compliant?

Blog post that raises awareness about regulations concerning accessibility. Failure to comply with those regulations can lead to lawsuits, financial liabilities, and damage to one’s reputation.

Does Every Website Need to be ADA Compliant

Blog that covers the types of websites are required to be ADA compliant

Is ADA Compliance Mandatory for Websites?

Blog that covers the types of websites that are required to be ADA compliant

Web Content Accessibility Guidelines - What is WCAG Compliance

Intro to WCAG

A Total Guide to Accessible Colors

Guide to accessibility of colors.

Web Accessibility Criteria - Color Contrast

Contains an introduction to color contrast, examples with best practices and testing methods

How to check for accessible colors -- A11ycasts #17

10 minutes youtube tutorial video with a self-explanatory title.

Annotating designs for Accessibility / Claire Webber and Sarah Pullis #id24 2021

54 minutes presentation on YouTube made by 2 digital accessibility experts.

Web Annotation Data Model

By W3C. Provides a structured model and format for annotations

A Complete Guide To Accessible Front-End Components

Guide to Accessible Front-End Components

W3C Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 3.0

Post by W3C that goes over the guidelines to design


Methods and approaches



Persona Co-Design for Improving Digital Accessibility

Research paper. "This paper examines approaches to developing authentic accessibility personas that can help improve the design of products for persons with disabilities..."

Co-creating Persona Scenarios with Diverse Users Enriching Inclusive Design

"In this article, we will examine personas as methodological approach and review some critiques about how its use may omit or stereotype users with disabilities or even restrict user involvement. We review previous persona creation methods and compare it to our approach where we involve diverse users directly in the personas creation process, to ensure more grounded personas."

Creating Personas with Disabilities

"We review the current state of the art of the personas and review some research and industry projects that use them. We outline techniques that can be used to create personas with disabilities. This includes advice on how to get more information about assistive technology and how to better include people with disabilities in the persona creation process"

Using Personas as an Inclusive Design Tool for Accessibility

53 minutes webinar on YouTube. "Denis Boudreau and Caitlin Geier, two of our UX accessibility experts, will talk about creating personas that you can use to promote inclusive design and accessibility for websites and applications."

Assistive Technology Users: Understanding the Representative Range

45min presentation on YouTube. Training that aims to introduce the different types of assistive tech users and provide tips to improve their experience in digital environments.


Assistive technology awareness



Developing assistive technologies through co-creation | Sarah Ebling | TEDxZurich

15min TedTalk. Video description " This talk is about the necessity of developing assistive technologies in the context of people with disabilities through co-creation. Developing such technologies with the target groups leads to better quality and acceptance."


Design accessible software



A Complete Guide To Accessible Front-End Components

"An up-to-date collection of accessible front-end components."

What WCAG 2.2 Means for Native Mobile Accessibility

Post that explains how accessibility guidelines apply to native mobile applications

Write Accessible Documentation

Google developer documentation style guide

Make Your Site More Accessible

Guidelines by Google with few advice about how to make a site more accessible

Accessibility Guidelines and Requirements

Microsoft's accessibility guidelines

IBM Accessibility Requirements

IBM's accessiblity guidelines.

IBM accessibility checklist

IBM Accessibility guide

Creating accessible sites

Adobe's accessiblity guidelines

Oracle Accessibility Guide

Accessible guide by Oracle


Improve assistive technology




Special topics



XR Accessibility User Requirements

By W3C. "This document lists user needs and requirements for people with disabilities when using virtual reality or immersive environments, augmented or mixed reality and other related technologies (XR)."

Making Mobile Augmented Reality Applications Accessible

2020 research paper. Study investigating making augmented reality technology accessible.

Current and Potential Uses of AR/VR for Equity and Inclusion

Post. "AR/VR can make important contributions to equity and inclusion if it is designed with these goals in mind. It can serve as a tool to help tackle implicit biases, improve access to opportunities, and create new channels for communication, community, and collaboration across distances."

Accessibility Guidelines for VR Games - A Comparison and Synthesis of a Comprehensive Set

2021 paper investigating accessibility guidelines for VR in games.

Designing Accessible VR Experiences

34 minute YouTube video. "We will demonstrate the importance of considering many different participant types in order to create accessible immersive experiences. We’ll do this by introducing you to scenarios in which accessible design broadens who can participate in applications, as well as some best practices to avoid creating jarring or dissonant experiences during gameplay"


Design assistive technology