109. Making Design Systems Inclusive with Accessibility Specialist Daniel Henderson-Ede

Design Systems Podcast

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Welcome to another episode of The Design Systems Podcast! In honor of Global Accessibility Awareness Day, we're thrilled to have Daniel Henderson-Ede, an accessibility specialist, here to discuss the need for and challenges of making inclusive design experiences for those with disabilities, and how design systems can help. Daniel shares why and how accessibility considerations should influence every decision in design systems to create better, more inclusive products. We get into the importance of theme management, and the latest updates in accessibility standards. Join us as we navigate the critical intersections of design, accessibility, and system thinking to shed light on how we can enhance user experiences on a grand scale.
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Guest
Daniel Henderson-Ede (he/him) is an Accessibility Designer for design systems at Pinterest. He loves working alongside designers, engineers, and leaders to advocate for accessibility at scale, with the aim of creating equitable experiences for disabled users. He has also previously used his design system knowledge to publish a collection of accessibility annotation kits whilst at CVS Health.
Host
Chris Strahl is co-founder and CEO of Knapsack, host of @TheDSPod, DnD DM, and occasional river guide. You can find Chris on Twitter as @chrisstrahl and on LinkedIn.
Sponsor
Sponsored by Knapsack, the design system platform that brings teams together. Learn more at knapsack.cloud.

Capitoli

1. Accessibility specialist focuses on human impacts of WCAG. (00:00:00)

2. Tetzmaps use core ingredients in versatile ways. (00:05:41)

3. Substitute components for accessible design flexibility. (00:07:28)

4. Prefer dyslexic fonts for better readability. (00:11:46)

5. Regret over contribution model affecting accessibility testing. (00:15:40)

6. Regular automation and unit testing for WCAG conformance. Importance of testing within its own context. (00:18:08)

7. Checking for information hierarchy is crucial for accessibility. (00:22:08)

8. New WCAG 2.2 recommendation for design systems. (00:24:53)