vsbabu.org

Inaccessible accessibility

fun stuff: inaccessible accessibility - “Recently, I posted an inaccessible accessibility presentation here on my web site. The irony was not lost on me the day I did it and in fact I posted why I was doing it right here in this spot.” - Molly Holzschlag.

Molly has interesting links to make PowerPoint presentations accessible, with some limitations. But what I really liked is the way she explains her thoughts. Nothing religious about it.

Time is indeed a factor in deciding on how much of an accessibility focus you should have. But, it does not have to be the ONLY factor. Most of the time, typical web design process dedicates lot more time on getting a design approved by powers that need to approve it. Usually this happens with image mockups printed in glossy paper with high resolution that no monitor can match. So, clients are happy running their hands over nice glossy paper and approval is done.

And then a frustrated techie is given the job of converting this design to HTML. Does it look good? Did the designer(s) use exotic fonts? They probably did. Since techie can’t get the approval staff to reconsider the design most of the time, s/he is forced to cut corners and make inaccessible sites.

Solution? If you know your worth as a techie, give a small bulletted list of difficulties you may face if you are given a design that has technical limitations. Give solutions too - mostly it can be a simple request to run these designs by you to see the feasibility.

How many production cars look like concept cars exhibited in auto shows? Very few. Because in real life, usefulness and practicality matters as much as "coolness". May be even more, considering how many cars Honda and Toyota sell.