The worldviews we build with: Why good design starts in the spirit
This article is based on a presentation by Elina Ashimbayeva, who explains how deeper values shape the way people design technology and work together. It describes how small...
Accessibility NYC
Posts under the Accessibility NYC byline are recaps of talks from the Accessibility New York City (A11yNYC) meetup.
How To Scale Digital Accessibility With Design Systems
Centralizing design and engineering help organizations build better digital services. Fragmented experiences often occur when teams solve the same problems in isolation. This leads...
The Clarity of Social Accessibility
This article, based on a presentation, explores how social accessibility affects daily experiences. It highlights the importance of recognition, the barriers people face in public...
PDF to Accessible Markdown: Introducing an Open Source AI Tool
PDF accessibility is a long-standing challenge. Many documents are hard to navigate, expensive to fix, and difficult for assistive technology to interpret. This article explains...
Totally Listening: Using a Total Communication Approach
This article explains how to support people who communicate in diverse ways, including those who use augmentative and alternative communication (AAC). It covers the Communication...
Every Jira Ticket Is Your Accessibility Policy
Charlie Triplett explains how accessibility becomes sustainable when it is built into the everyday tools teams already use. Instead of relying on mindset shifts or expecting...
From Reactive to Proactive: Building a Sustainable Accessibility Program
At an A11yNYC meetup, Lina Trifon, Senior Product Manager of Accessibility, shared practical strategies for building sustainable accessibility programs. Drawing from lived...
Beyond the Page: How an Inclusive Library Model Is Redefining Accessible Literacy
Most people take reading for granted. But for those with print disabilities, access to books, news, and learning materials can be life-changing. The Andrew Heiskell Braille and...
Got Data, Now What? Storytelling Through Accessible Design
Based on Dr. Angela Young’s A11yNYC talk, this explores how inclusive design transforms raw data into stories everyone can understand and act on. They unpacked the hidden costs of...
Making Content Accessible for People with Limited English Proficiency
Based on Irina Morozova’s A11yNYC talk, this explores how thoughtful content and inclusive design can make digital experiences more accessible for people with limited English...
Digital Accessibility’s Gap: AI to Bridge Mobile and Web Barriers
Mobile accessibility remains challenging, with 60–80% of users encountering barriers across common apps. Jason Tan frames the challenge through four apocalyptic horsemen: lack of...
Accessibility Lightning Talks: AI for Accessibility, Engagement, Audio, and Access
This article is based on four lightning talks given at A11yNYC. Raquel Ronzone from Perkins School for the Blind discusses broadening engagement in accessibility innovation. New...
Championing Accessibility: Technical and Non-Technical Tips
This blog post, based on a talk by Kai Wong and Asha Sachdeva at A11yNYC, explores strategies for championing digital accessibility. The speakers emphasize that anyone, regardless...
Tools of the Trade: Accessibility Without the Cost
In this A11yNYC recap, Jeremy Rivera explains how developers and designers can build accessible digital experiences using free tools. Tools help catch common issues like poor color...
Benchmarking Usability and the Cognitive Accessibility Frontier
This post explains how traditional tools like the System Usability Scale don’t always work for people with disabilities, so Fable created a new version called the Accessible...
Older Adults and Digital Inclusion
Tom Kamber talks about the founding of Older Adults Technology Services (OATS) to help older adults learn and use technology to improve their lives. It started with one woman who...
Audio Description in Advertising
This post explains why audio description in advertising is still rare, even though millions of blind and low-vision people want and need it. Companies often say it’s too expensive...
Accessibility Technology and Innovation Lab at Verizon
This article is based on Fred Moltz’s talk at A11yNYC. Nine years ago, Fred Moltz started Verizon’s accessibility program. He built it from the ground up, which helped him evolve...
Advancing Accessibility: Strategies for Continuous Improvement
This article is based on Andrew Hedges’ talk at A11yNYC. Andrew Hedges has been building the web professionally since 1998. This is the year that section 508 passed and one year...
Locking in Accessibility Best Practices Early for a Performing Arts Center
This article is based on Vlado Vince and Natalie Kertes’s talk at A11yNYC. Vlado Vince, IT director at Perelman Performing Arts Center (PACNYC), has been doing IT in the performing...
The Dos and Don’ts of Disability Representation in Media
This article is based on Xian Horn’s talk at A11yNYC . Xian’s presentation talks about the do’s and don’ts of disability representation in the media. Her first tip is to stay...
Mobile Accessibility Tools: Camera Switches and More
This article is based on a talk Shafik Quoraishee gave at A11yNYC. Mobile has its own accessibility guidelines and standards. They align with the web accessibility guidelines and...
Leveling the Playing Field: Toward Equivalently Accessible Video Game Worlds
This article is based on a talk Vishnu Nair gave at A11yNYC. Video games are a pastime and an escape for many. They allow people to explore and experience complex, fantastical...
A Taste of ReelAbilities New York 2024
This article is based on a talk Isaac Zablocki, co-founder of ReelAbilities and the director of film programs at the Marlene Meyerson JCC Manhattan, gave at A11yNYC about the 2024...
The Accessibility Tales: Stories from the Before Times
This article is based on a talk Jesse Beach who supports a team of engineers at Meta and a founding contributor to the jsx-a11y-eslint-plugin, gave at A11yNYC. During the pandemic,...
Digital Accessibility and Civil Rights: The 2023 Legal Landscape
This article is based on an A11yNYC talk given by Lainey Feingold, a disability rights lawyer, public speaker, and author. What is digital accessibility? Accessibility is captions....
Real AI Solutions for Accessibility Challenges
This article is based on a talk Kevin Berg, VP of solution engineering at Evinced, gave at A11yNYC . Artificial intelligence (AI) can help solve the digital accessibility problem....
New Ideas and Unique Solutions from Figma on Accessibility
This article is based on a talk David Winslow, software engineer at Figma, gave at A11yNYC. For those who aren’t familiar with it, Figma is a tool that allows people to share and...
From Barriers to Breakthroughs: A Person’s Journey in Digital Accessibility
How did Thomas Logan get started in accessibility? It all started in 2002 when he was a student at the University of North Carolina. There, he met Jason Morris, a graduate student...
AI for Accessibility: Opportunities and Challenges
Links to all resources mentioned in this article are listed at the end of the page. Shari Trewin started with a story about captions. In 2020, she was one of the accessibility...
Breaking into Digital Accessibility Careers, Part 2
In case you missed it, here is the recap on the First Steps to Breaking into Digital Accessibility Careers. How do I become an accessibility-focused (fill in the blank)? Louise...
The First Steps to Breaking into Digital Accessibility Careers
Beginning a career focused on digital accessibility can be intimidating as technologists new to this professional field struggle to define the specific role that aligns with their...
Speaking Up and Speaking Out: Tactical Communication in Accessibility
In 1945, the U.S. Air Force (USAF) had a big problem. Too many crashes. The USAF had no idea why this happened. They built these cockpits with unmovable chairs and no straps on the...
Accessible Typefaces, Fonts, and Text with Jared Smith
Most of our time online is typically spent reading text, yet we don’t often consider how accessible that text is. The typefaces, fonts, and text styling used can have a significant...
Overlays Underwhelm | Accessibility NYC Meetup Recap
Accessibility overlays bring promises of accessible sites in one line of code, but experiences from users tell us the opposite. At a previous A11yNYC Meetup, Adrian Roselli looks...
Google Project Relate: A Communication Tool | Accessibility NYC Meetup Recap
For millions of people, being able to speak and be understood can be difficult as a result of conditions that can impact speech, including stroke, ALS, Cerebral Palsy, traumatic...
Broke with Accessible Taste: Understanding the Economics of Digital Access in America | Accessibility NYC Meetup Recap
Conversations about digital accessibility are predominantly centered on the technical and monetary expenses of implementation in products and applications. Missing from these...
Accessible SVGs: Pattern, Color Contrast, and Motion Considerations | Accessibility NYC Meetup Recap
Accessibility New York City hosted a Meetup entitled “Accessible SVGs: Pattern, Color Contrast, and Motion Considerations.” Scalable Vector Graphics (SVGs) became a W3C open...
Billion Strong: A Global Identity and Empowerment Nonprofit | Accessibility NYC Meetup Recap
On October 7, 2021, Accessibility New York City hosted a Meetup entitled “Billion Strong: A Global Identity and Empowerment Nonprofit.” According to the World Health Organization,...
I Heart CC: Why and How to Caption Videos Folks Love | Accessibility NYC Meetup Recap
On July 13, 2021, Accessibility New York City hosted a Meetup entitled “I Heart CC: Why and How to Caption Videos Folks Love.” With more captioning DIY apps coming out and...
Accessibility Testing with People with Disabilities | Accessibility NYC Meetup Recap
On June 1, 2021, Accessibility New York City hosted a Meetup entitled “Accessibility Testing with People with Disabilities: Tips and tricks from the experts at Fable.” Sam Proulx,...
Providing Remote Services for The Disability Community During The Pandemic | Accessibility NYC Meetup Recap
On August 18, 2020, Accessibility New York City hosted a Meetup entitled “Providing Remote Services for The Disability Community During The Pandemic.” Presenter Jonathon Epstein —...
5 Things I Learned from the Accessibility Community | Accessibility NYC Meetup Recap
On October 6, 2020, Accessibility New York City hosted a meetup entitled “5 Things I Learned from the Accessibility Community.” Presenter Marcy Sutton, freelance web developer,...
Using Task-Oriented Walk Throughs for Accessibility Reviews | Accessibility NYC Meetup Recap
On July 14, 2020, Accessibility New York City hosted a meetup entitled “Using Task-Oriented Walk Throughs for Accessibility Reviews.” Presenter Sarah Pulis, digital accessibility...
NYC COVID-19 Response for People with Disabilities | Accessibility NYC Meetup Recap
On May 5, 2020, Accessibility New York City hosted a Meetup entitled “NYC COVID-19 Response for People with Disabilities.” Presenters Walei Sabry and Jonathan Novick from the NYC...
Designing With Accessibility in Mind | Accessibility NYC Meetup Recap
On October 1, 2019, Accessibility New York City hosted a meetup entitled “Designing With Accessibility in Mind.” Presenter Regine Gilbert,User Experience Designer and professor at...
Interactive 3D-Printed Models for Students with Visual Impairments | Accessibility NYC Meetup Recap
On August 6, Accessibility New York City hosted a meetup entitled “Interactive 3D-Printed Models for Students with Visual Impairments“. Professor Shiri Azenkot from Cornell Tech,...
Lower Literacy: It’s Not the User, It’s the Product! | Accessibility NYC Meetup Recap
On June 4, 2019, Accessibility New York City hosted a Meetup entitled “Lower Literacy: It’s Not the User, It’s the Product!” Presenter Damien Senger, Design Systems & Accessibility...
Making Museums More Accessible | Accessibility NYC Meetup Recap
On May 16, 2019, Accessibility New York City hosted a meetup entitled “Making Museums More Accessible: How Do We Overcome Barriers to Content?” Presenter Aurélia Fleury, Director...
2019 Digital Accessibility Trends – An Evening With Tim Springer, Level Access | Accessibility NYC Meetup Recap
On April 2, 2019, the Accessibility New York City Meetup hosted 2019 Digital Accessibility Trends. Presenter Tim Springer, Founder and CEO of Level Access, provided a data driven...
Time Traveler’s Guide to Accessibility Mechanics | Accessibility NYC Meetup Recap
On January 22, 2019, Accessibility NYC hosted a meetup entitled “Time Traveler’s Guide to Accessibility Mechanics.” Presenter Léonie Watson, accessibility engineer and Director of...
If It’s Interactive, It Needs a Focus Style | Accessibility NYC Meetup Recap
On January 8, 2019, Accessibility NYC hosted a meetup entitled “If It’s Interactive, It Needs a Focus Style.” Presenter Eric Bailey, designer at thoughtbot with a focus on...
Pair Programming: Better Than Adderall | Accessibility NYC Meetup Recap
On December 4, 2018, Accessibility NYC hosted a meetup entitled “Pair Programming: Better Than Adderall.” Presenter Matt Kleiman, software engineer at Pivotal Labs, described how...
Accessibility NYC Meetup Recap: An Evening With Victor Calise, NYC Mayor’s Office for People with Disabilities
On November 8, 2018, Accessibility NYC hosted a Meetup entitled “An Evening With Victor Calise, NYC Mayor’s Office for People with Disabilities.” Commissioner Calise described New...
Accessibility NYC Meetup Recap: WCAG 2.1: An Evening With Andrew Kirkpatrick, Head of Accessibility at Adobe
On September 11, 2018, Accessibility NYChosted a meetup entitled “WCAG 2.1: An Evening With Andrew Kirkpatrick, Head of Accessibility at Adobe.” Presenter Andrew Kirkpatrick...
Accessibility NYC Meetup Recap: Inclusive Web-based Virtual Reality
On August 7, 2018, Accessibility NYC hosted a meetup entitled “Inclusive Web-based Virtual Reality: A11Y & WebXR Immerses the Visually Impaired.” Presenters Roland Dubois and Ian...
Accessibility NYC Meetup Recap: Transdisciplinary and Inclusive Approaches to Accessibility
On July 10, 2018 Accessibility NYC hosted a Meetup entitled “Transdisciplinary and Inclusive Approaches to Accessibility.” Presenter Claire Kearney-Volpe, PhD Candidate in NYU’s...
Accessibility NYC Meetup Recap: Understanding Transportation Challenges for People With Disabilities in NYC
On June 5, 2018, Accessibility NYC hosted a meetup entitled “Understanding Transportation Challenges for People With Disabilities in NYC.” Presenter Jessica Murray, doctoral...
Accessibility NYC Meetup Recap: LinkNYC Accessibility
On May 1, 2018, Accessibility NYC hosted a meetup entitled “LinkNYC Accessibility.” Presenters Ruth Fasoldt, Kevin Green and Emily Pease described LinkNYC, a first-of-its-kind...
Accessibility NYC Meeting Recap: Uniquely Normal: Tapping the Reservoir of Normalcy to Treat Autism
On April 3, 2018, Accessibility NYC hosted a meetup entitled “Uniquely Normal: Tapping the Reservoir of Normalcy to Treat Autism.” Presenter Robert J. Bernstein, Counselor and...
Accessibility NYC Meetup Recap: “Diversity and Inclusion in the Arts.”
On March 20th, Accessibility NYC hosted a meetup entitled “Diversity and Inclusion in the Arts.” Presenter Stephanie Barton-Farcas, Founder and Artistic Director of Nicu’s Spoon...
Accessibility NYC Meetup Recap: “Aira: AR to Enhance Information Access and Cultural Experiences for the Blind.”
On March 6, 2018, Accessibility NYC hosted a meetup at thoughtbot entitled, “Aira: AR to Enhance Information Access and Cultural Experiences for the Blind.” Aira provides live...
Accessibility NYC Meeting Recap: CADET, NCAM’s New Caption and Description Editing Tool
On February 6th, Accessibility NYC hosted a meetup at the Andrew Heiskell Braille and Talking Book Library in New York. At the meetup, Bryan Gould and Geoff Freed from the National...
Accessibility NYC Meeting Recap: “Accessibility, Technology, and Fashion Design”
On October 26th, Accessibility NYC hosted a meetup entitled “Accessibility, Technology, and Fashion Design.” Shawn Lauriat, an accessibility engineer for Google Apps, talked...
Accessibility NYC Meeting Recap: Two Decades of Disability Rights Advocacy with Lainey Feingold
On October 26th, Accessibility NYC hosted a joint meetup with the Computer Center for Visually Impaired People at Baruch College entitled “Two Decades of Disability Rights...
Accessibility NYC Meetup Recap: “Implementing Resizable Text Without Breaking the User Experience”
Earlier this month, Accessibility NYC hosted a meetup entitled “Implementing Resizable Text Without Breaking the User Experience.” Presenter Adina Halter, Senior Product Manager...
Accessibility NYC Meeting Recap: “Building an Accessible Document Workflow”
Last year, Accessibility NYC hosted a meetup at thoughtbot entitled “Building an Accessible Document Workflow.” Damian Sian, Senior Web Accessibility Advisor for Princeton...
Accessibility NYC Meeting Recap: “My Story, Aphasia, the NYC Outdoors Disability Group, and the No Barriers Summit”
This past summer, Accessibility NYC hosted a meetup entitled “My Story, Aphasia, the NYC Outdoors Disability Group, and the No Barriers Summit.” Presenter Avi Golden, a practicing...
Accessibility NYC Meeting Recap: Accessibility and Virtual Reality
Accessibility NYC hosted a Meetup on July 11, 2017 at thoughtbot, titled Accessibility and Virtual Reality. Our CEO, Thomas Logan, presented a variety of demonstrations of various...
“A Taste of ReelAbilities”
Accessibility NYC hosted a Meetup on April 4th at thoughtbot, titled “A Taste of ReelAbilities.” Ravit Turjeman, Director of the ReelAbilities Festival, presented and discussed...
Recap: “Accessibility in NYC Parks”
Accessibility NYC hosted a Meetup on May 2nd, 2017 at thoughtbot, titled “Accessibility in NYC Parks”. Christopher Noel, ADA Accessibility Coordinator for New York Parks and...
Accessibility NYC Meetup Recap: “Disability, Bring It On”
Accessibility NYC hosted a Meetup on March 7th, 2017 at thoughtbot, titled “Disability, Bring It On.” Jack Chen, Patent Counsel at Google, explored universal lessons on success...