Acessibilidade não é a última etapa do projeto
Quando a acessibilidade vira checklist de fim de projeto, ela custa caro e chega pela metade. Quando entra no começo, vira critério de decisão, e o produto inteiro melhora.
Accessibility is not the last step of a project
As an end-of-project checklist, accessibility is expensive and only half done. Brought in at the start, it becomes a decision criterion, and the whole product gets better.
Accessibility is not the last step of a project
As an end-of-project checklist, accessibility is expensive and only half done. Brought in at the start, it becomes a decision criterion, and the whole product gets better.
Por muito tempo, tratei acessibilidade como revisão: o layout ficava pronto e só depois alguém passava o contraste num verificador e ajustava o que dava. O problema é que, nesse ponto, as grandes decisões já tinham sido tomadas.
Hoje levo a acessibilidade para a descoberta, junto com as outras restrições do projeto.
O que muda na prática
- Pesquisa: incluir pessoas com deficiência no recrutamento desde a primeira rodada.
- Fluxos: desenhar o caminho feito só com teclado antes de pensar no hover.
- Componentes: foco visível, estados e textos alternativos fazem parte do componente, não de uma camada extra.
- Conteúdo: frases curtas e hierarquia clara ajudam todo mundo, não só quem usa leitor de tela.
Acessibilidade tratada no início é critério. No fim, é retrabalho.
Neste site, tentei seguir essa lógica: escolha de cores e de modo claro logo na entrada, tema de alto contraste, navegação por teclado nas abas e respeito a quem prefere menos movimento. Ainda há muito a melhorar, e é justamente por isso que ele segue em construção.
For a long time, I treated accessibility as a review step: the layout was finished, and only then did someone run the colors through a contrast checker and fix what they could. The problem is that, by then, the big decisions had already been made.
Today I bring accessibility into discovery, alongside the project's other constraints.
What changes in practice
- Research: include people with disabilities in recruiting from the very first round.
- Flows: design the keyboard-only path before thinking about hover.
- Components: visible focus, states, and alt text belong to the component, not to an extra layer.
- Content: short sentences and clear hierarchy help everyone, not just screen reader users.
Accessibility handled at the start is a criterion. At the end, it's rework.
I tried to follow this on this very site: color and light-mode choice right at the entrance, a high-contrast theme, keyboard navigation in the tabs, and respect for people who prefer less motion. There's still a lot to improve, which is exactly why it's always under construction.
For a long time, I treated accessibility as a review step: the layout was finished, and only then did someone run the colors through a contrast checker and fix what they could. The problem is that, by then, the big decisions had already been made.
Today I bring accessibility into discovery, alongside the project's other constraints.
What changes in practice
- Research: include people with disabilities in recruiting from the very first round.
- Flows: design the keyboard-only path before thinking about hover.
- Components: visible focus, states, and alt text belong to the component, not to an extra layer.
- Content: short sentences and clear hierarchy help everyone, not just screen reader users.
Accessibility handled at the start is a criterion. At the end, it's rework.
I tried to follow this on this very site: color and light-mode choice right at the entrance, a high-contrast theme, keyboard navigation in the tabs, and respect for people who prefer less motion. There's still a lot to improve, which is exactly why it's always under construction.