Accessible design

From the first layout

Most of what makes a site accessible gets decided early, in the colour contrast, the way focus moves through a page, how the headings nest and what happens when someone turns motion off. We make those calls while the layout is still being drawn.

Each of those decisions costs almost nothing at that stage. Fixing them in a finished site is expensive, and the fixes are usually partial.

Access information on the map itself

Calgary Municipal Land Corporation's C+E Access Map puts accessibility information for the Culture + Entertainment District on the map, next to the buildings and access points it describes. Visitors can check how to get in before they arrive, and CMLC keeps that information current in Sanity as the district changes.

How we test

We test with a keyboard, with a screen reader, with reduced motion switched on, and at the text sizes people really use. Automated checks with axe-core catch a good share of problems quickly, so we run them on every page. They miss the ones that stop somebody from finishing a task, so a person goes through the site too.

Our own site gets the same treatment. Every page is checked with axe-core in light mode, in dark mode and on a phone, and tested for keyboard use, reduced motion and reflow at 320 pixels wide.