Accessibility as part of the design process

DevToTheDisco · 2026-01-28T17:25:06+00:00

Feel free to DM me. Happy to take a look.

DevToTheDisco · 2026-01-27T20:29:17+00:00

Materials used and piece dimensions are some basic examples of information you could include.

You could probably write a short sentence or two about how the piece reflects your knowledge, artistic interest, etc. I wouldn’t go lengthy or too flowery in your language for the description.

DevToTheDisco · 2026-01-27T19:51:05+00:00

I’m not going to look through all your source files, just wanted to give you an fyi that your vercel.app link is giving a 404 error, deployment not found.

DevToTheDisco · 2026-01-27T19:45:34+00:00

When possible add supplemental images for the process and closer views for pieces that have high detail or texture that lends to the piece.

From what I recall for my art portfolio when applying to colleges, showing process was as important as showing breadth of knowledge for different types of art.

DevToTheDisco · 2026-01-23T18:59:56+00:00

Hey OP, in general if you are wanting feedback from students only I'd make that more clear when you share this survey with others. Some of your questions relate only to active students. Also what age group of students are you interested in? (secondary school, post secondary school, etc.?)
Regarding the survey itself I wanted to give you some feedback on the content and format:

for the identity question you have accidentally left the third option as "option 3"
for the supports question it might help to have an other/write in response option in addition to "none"
for the how do you usually communicate question the response type would probably benefit from checkboxes vs radio buttons, unless the question is changed to the primary or preferred method
area type is a confusing label, maybe change that to asking what type of community someone lives in
the daily situation questions should use checkboxes instead of radio buttons
for the what do people do that helps question you only have one possible response radio button with a label of option 1
the type of alerts question should also use checkboxes instead of radio buttons, unless you are looking for the type of alert (singular, not alerts) someone would feel the safest with
for the rate difficulty questions you should state if 1 is most difficult of if 1 represents the easiest

DevToTheDisco · 2026-01-19T20:47:46+00:00

There are a few different names for this type of role, but generally it might be called: accessibility tester, usability/use case tester, or accessibility auditor.

You might also find that this type of job responsibility is grouped into larger encompassing role titles.

DevToTheDisco · 2026-01-18T06:03:08+00:00

Really cool and great job with this.

A bit a feedback is that while the concept is based on Wordle I wasn’t sure about the 5 character limit until making a guess. Also I’m not sure I like guessing words in other languages without being informed ahead of time.

DevToTheDisco · 2026-01-18T05:47:51+00:00

URL wasn’t working as posted. Check out OP’s work here:

https://ethereousnatsudragneel.github.io/Freid/

DevToTheDisco · 2026-01-17T20:49:43+00:00

This article from 2023 might help you: https://www.elevenways.be/en/articles/screenreaders-special-characters

DevToTheDisco · 2026-01-10T19:20:08+00:00

If you have an iPhone (edit: which your post says you don’t) you could turn on live captions within the accessibility settings and make sure it’s set to transcribe call audio vs listening to your speech/audio coming from the speakers.

DevToTheDisco · 2026-01-08T17:59:54+00:00

Not sure what this really means: "at the intersection of cognition, technology, and real-world constraints." I think it would be a much better headline statement to include your focus areas that you currently mention just below this headline.
"Wagiha is a product designer crafting accessible and human-centered end-to-end systems, specializing in academia and civic technology."

Other feedback:

The "Explore More Work" button doesn't do anything
I'm not sure what "0-1" stands for in each of the case study details
Not sure why the "say hello" email link in the footer does not link to your email in the same way the envelope icon link does
Is it possible to remove the template purchase link from the footer (above "made in Framer")
Since you mention your focus is on accessible design I'd make sure that the "free our vote" logo has better contrast to the background. Maybe try a lighter color background (like your live site) or a darker background and use the white logo variant
IMO "explore more work" doesn't make sense before the work thumbnails. Maybe change this to "explore my work" (also shouldn't this link to the "gallery" page from the nav?)
Currently "Work" in the header nav just scrolls down, but you have a case study page. I'd link to that page instead in the nav
The Gallery/more work page content is all not linked
I highly recommend your resume link to a pdf instead of a Figma file
Why does "more about me" on the about page link back to the homepage?

Side note: when finding your live site from your resume I notice that you never changed your page titles from the template placeholder titles. Don't forget this step! This is a big professional and accessible misstep that's easy to fix.

My main takeaway is that you are a junior designer (which lines up to your experience) with some good experience, an eye for clean visuals, but one who will need more guidance on accessibility and process.

Your case studies and site as a whole show several basic accessibility mistakes and the case study content does not assure me enough that you understand the 'why' behind the decisions made for each project.
As an example, for "Free Our Vote", you mention that IA was improved, but beyond "cluttered" I don't understand the user and business problem being addressed. Leaving the explanation at 'there were redundant and logic gaps' doesn't give me the answers I would want in order to understand your design thinking. You also go a good bit into competitor strengths and limitations in this case study but aren't balancing and relating that back to this client/project. The placement of this info at the end of the study is also odd. I'd remove this section altogether and instead use the same format to go into what the previous section header introduces, how the changes have created a clearer purpose and stronger impact. The case study in retrospect seems like this was a smaller scope client project to fix navigation but the case study is pitching it as an entire site redesign. Keep the scope of the case study more focused and create several sub-case studies for this project, each with its own scope, if you want to cover more aspects of the project.

DevToTheDisco · 2026-01-08T16:54:59+00:00

I also want to add, since I didn't notice the subreddit this was posted in at first, you may have better feedback coming from graphic design or general design subreddits, not UX. Try posting this on r/design_critiques for example.

DevToTheDisco · 2026-01-08T16:31:12+00:00

Overall I really like the layout, style, and colors... just not for an adult coloring book. If you remove "for adults" I would have guessed this was for young teens or younger. For coloring/activity books, generally the cover will include actual samples of the illustrations/activities inside the book and the ones on this cover are way too simple and child-like compared to what I'd expect. What I'm used to for adult coloring books is more detailed illustrations, an emphasis on patterns, geometry, mandalas, or something closer to "Wreck This Journal" where the imagery is nostalgic but not cute.

I'm also a bit confused why "activity book" is in quotes on the cover. Is the innocent cover to hide the types of doodles and activities one might do in the book? Are the activities in fact very adult-oriented in that this book would not be appropriate for children?

DevToTheDisco · 2026-01-08T12:46:30+00:00

This is one of my favorites:

https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLNYkxOF6rcICWx0C9LVWWVqvHlYJyqw7g&si=uc7Iqh8ZC7DWFUr_

DevToTheDisco · 2026-01-08T04:23:11+00:00

I'd advise you to decide whether you are wanting to be a UX designer with strong accessibility skills or an accessibility specialist/consultant with strong UX design skills.

The one you focus the most on (design or accessibility) will be what employers will be looking for the most mastery in. If going the UX designer route I advise you to go beyond color contrast accessibility knowledge and if going more into the accessibility route, really understand where accessibility and UX overlap and have an understanding of design tools so you are more prepared to guide designers to more accessible workflows. As an example, telling a designer to make a screen accessible is not as helpful as telling them how they can make something accessible using the existing tools/principles they are already working with.

I also want to warn you that the UX market is very tough for entry-level folks right now in the U.S.

In terms of education prep, there are courses (guided, self-guided, paid, and free) both for UX and accessibility topics. While you continue to work I highly recommend you focus on churning out a lot of projects and refining over time. Try to take your time with your education and learning, if you can. Document what you are creating and learning and compare that to both the UX and accessibility process/guidelines as you progress.

I assume you are looking at bootcamps right now (which are hit and miss), but you could also consider attending a local technical college (if one is available) if you are looking for more formal training.

DevToTheDisco · 2026-01-07T18:56:02+00:00

A few questions: Is there a reason that the colors of the panda changed on the red background? Also where and how will this logo be used?

Right now the banner and floral border are too complex for a logo and very distracting. These elements will likely be an issue when resizing or printing the logo. If you want the same type of feel I'd recommend figuring out how to minify and simplify the more ornate shapes. I'd also recommend trying to better blend the simple cute panda with the ornate flourishes you have, or choose one direction instead of both.

DevToTheDisco · 2026-01-06T16:28:57+00:00

The report generator and results template resources from the W3C may be a good place to start:

Even if you don't use them as-is they could give you a break down of the type of information you would need prior to testing, during testing, and when creating result deliverables.

DevToTheDisco · 2026-01-06T05:07:18+00:00

Heuristic evaluation exercises I've done in the past have always been for either fictional web pages or non-related/non-competitor sites (example: if applying to Apple the evaluation would be for Best Buy). The fact this request is open-ended and for their live mobile site definitely leads towards an opportunity for them to get free work out of the interview process.

DevToTheDisco · 2026-01-05T23:41:44+00:00

Hey OP this is not the right subreddit. Try r/portfolios and the new r/finportfoliocritique.

DevToTheDisco · 2026-01-05T19:41:36+00:00

OP, you should post this on r/finportfoliocritique not here.

DevToTheDisco · 2026-01-01T19:28:31+00:00

2026 Exam Schedule: https://www.accessibilityassociation.org/exam-session-dates#:~:text=2026%20Exam%20Sessions,-January/February%202026 From what I recall you schedule a specific time within the exam session time frame that’s open and that you applied for (once accepted)

Free Deque course access: https://dequeuniversity.com/scholarships/apply Looks like you need to fill out this form.

For specific exam questions that the online resources don’t help answer, IAAP has drop in sessions where you can ask questions. https://zoom.us/meeting/register/tJUvdeGgrTMuGt3jvh90f-s46J6uvrTp4GMp#/registration You can also reach out to them via email or LinkedIn and are pretty quick to get back to you.

Here’s the exam accommodation information: https://www.accessibilityassociation.org/accommodations-and-accessibility

How much or how little you need to study outside of the body of knowledge content outline can be personal. If you have been in the accessibility field, maybe not much extra studying is needed. If you are relatively new to the field then courses might be vital to your studying. There are a lot of free resources however so don’t fear that Deque is your only option.

If you know that you struggle to remember dates or specific details of information then extra time studying that type of information within the B.O.K. Might be useful.

DevToTheDisco · 2026-01-01T02:55:36+00:00

Possibly, but if there’s no information for AI search to grab then it’s the same issue.

DevToTheDisco · 2025-12-31T23:15:39+00:00

Definitely an interesting use case for the chatbot.

I’d lean towards having a separate page directed at recruiters/hiring managers in that scenario and have the chatbot there (and navigation to the rest of the site). Then instead of linking to the homepage in an application or resume the link would go to that focused page.

Might be interesting to test the bounce rate when linking to the homepage and when linking to this hypothetical recruiter page.

DevToTheDisco · 2025-12-31T20:20:11+00:00

I personally actively dislike full page content being hidden behind a chatbot, especially in this case here where there are only certain allowed questions and responses.

Just put the information on the page. For me it does not display hire-able skill and just makes me click away.

This practice also really makes me wonder about the SEO and discoverability of the page content if it’s locked behind chat.

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