How To Get Your Org on the Road To Accessible Design
White text on green background: February 2024 Issue, Clearing the Digital Ramp, Website accessibility and inclusive design insights

How To Get Your Org on the Road To Accessible Design

More thought provoking opinions about digital accessibility from Mangrove, where we've been working on inclusive and accessible design for nearly 20 years.

  • Practical tips for accessible website design
  • How to choose inclusive photography
  • Does your website need some love??
  • Plus: $2 million settlement in digital accessibility lawsuit, and remembering Donald Galloway

Scroll to the end to learn why we named this newsletter "Clearing the Digital Ramp.


Practical advice for designing accessible websites

If you’ve never thought about how accessible your website is to those living with a disability, you’re not alone. Humans are wired to see the world through an individual lens; for many of us, that can lead to an ableist perspective. With an estimated one billion people—about 15% of the world’s population—living with a disability, it’s crucial that accessibility be a focal point in the digital space.

In addition to content and development considerations, how websites are designed is vital to making them accessible. Various elements go into designing for accessibility, but fortunately, they tend to be quite intuitive and many of the protocols overlap with basic user experience best practices. A few of the key things to consider are: Typography, color, content, motion, and navigation.

Read the full article for steps and tips on designing accessible websites


Upcoming speaking engagements

The 2024 B Corp Champions Retreat is coming up this March and we’re excited to share that Mangrove Founder & CEO, Maiya Holliday, will be presenting on an exciting panel with Jay Wall RGD and Daman Wandke. They’ll be discussing how businesses can design experiences, both physical and digital, that incorporate and elevate accessibility.???

Learn more about the panel and the 2024 B Corp Champions Retreat


Inaccessible website leads to $2 million settlement

A camping enthusiast and blind community leader won an unprecedented case over an inaccessible reservations website for California state parks. The agreement also mandates a thorough remediation process to ensure equal access for blind and disabled users.?

Learn more about this important case


Tips for choosing inclusive photography

Whether designing a website, brochure, or presentation, image choice is a critical step and striving to be inclusive is important. Equally as important is what the photos you choose might be saying about people with disabilities. After all, a photo can be worth a thousand words. Paralympian and disability inclusion champion, Tricia Downing, explores the importance of image choice and shares insightful tips for choosing inclusive photography in a recent LinkedIn post.??

The images below are examples from Disability:IN's inclusive stock photo collection. Photos by Jordan Nicholson.

A man using a wheelchair sits at the head of a table speaking to members of his team.
A woman using a wheelchair, a man with a white can and a woman who is seated chat next to a window with a city view in the background.

Remembering blind activist Donald Galloway and his role in the Disability Rights movement

As a teenager, Donald Galloway was blinded in an accident. He became a pivotal figure in the Disability Rights Movement of the 1970s, including racial justice and an intersectional approach to dismantling systemic ableism in his advocacy. Watch this video from Ola Ojewumi to learn more about Donald Galloway, his important contributions, and why they must be remembered.

Black disability rights activist Donald Galloway, pictured in a screen grab from a video.
Donald Galloway

How to know if your website needs attention

Do you know if your website is accessible? If you aren't able to easily answer this question, it's likely that your site has not been built in an accessible way. When clients ask us if it’s time to rebuild their website we always start with a checklist, including a question about website accessibility. It's a helpful tool for assessing needs and can hopefully serve as a guide for planning conversations down the road.

Read on to explore and fill out the checklist


Why did we title this newsletter "Clearing the Digital Ramp"? The cartoon below illustrates how clearing or shoveling a ramp creates access for all. When we improve digital accessibility, we are clearing "ramps" to create an easier path forward for ALL users.

In this cartoon, a man is clearing snow from stairs in front of a school while someone in a wheelchair waits to use the access ramp, still covered in snow. Others await access to either the ramp or stairs. Text reads: “Clearing the path for people with special needs clears the path for everyone!”

If you are interested in understanding more about digital accessibility or engaging Mangrove to support you to design or develop a more accessible brand and website, reach out!

You can also learn more about our accessibility services here.




Carolina Miranda

Helping businesses certify and recertify as #BCorps

8 个月

Nice analogy about clearing the digital ramp - we should be making accessibility for all a priority.

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Lizy Freudmann

Marketing Entrepreneur, Specializing in High-Level Strategy + On-Brand Communication @ One More Thing LLC | MBA, MGM, B Corp

8 个月

I was JUST looking for information on this!

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