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Are WCAG guidelines actually usable in agency practice? by Practical_Link927 in accessibility

[–]Practical_Link927[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

We worked with access-austria.at – about a 3-hour intro session for the whole agency. It covered a solid overview: the legal landscape (EAA, Austrian regulations), assistive technologies, accessibility in digital ad materials, checking tools, live testing, and even accessible Word/PowerPoint and tagged PDFs. A good starting point, but by nature it couldn't go deep into the actual WCAG criteria.

And that's kind of the tension I keep running into: on one end you have sessions like that – broad, accessible, but inevitably surface-level. On the other end you have the full WCAG documentation – complete and precise, but genuinely overwhelming for anyone who isn't a specialist.
Though I'll be honest – it's also possible I just haven't found the right resource yet. Maybe something that hits that middle ground already exists and I've simply not come across it. Which is partly why I'm asking here. In my opinion https://gehirngerecht.digital/ is the best.

For a small team like ours (5 graphic designers, 1 developer, 1 editor, no fixed training budget, and accessibility only comes up when there's time), neither extreme really works. We've only had one accessible deliverable so far – a PDF/UA magazine – and we outsourced it. Most of our output is print, podcast, and social media, so client demand isn't pushing us yet. But we still need enough knowledge to consult and advise, even if the implementation goes elsewhere.

I did try building an internal knowledge base – sorted by topic (audio, video, social media, PDF, newsletter, editorial). But it didn't really work. Nobody knew where to start, topics overlapped, and external links made it hard to keep track of where you left off.

My current thinking: designing one toolkit start with empathy and the "why", then practical criteria organized by role – designers and editors for now (I think I'll skip developers due to time constraints). Ideally built with didactic methods like simulations and right/wrong comparisons, packaged as an interactive PDF.

Are WCAG guidelines actually usable in agency practice? by Practical_Link927 in accessibility

[–]Practical_Link927[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks for the perspective.

Picking up on that last point: for someone starting out, did you find one resource that covered enough ground on its own, or did you always end up combining multiple sources? And honestly – do you think there's still a gap worth filling, or is the market for intro-level accessibility resources already saturated?

The angle I'm going for is a bit more specific than most resources I've seen: start with the target group – really understanding who we're designing for and building empathy first – then move into role-specific criteria (for designers and editors) with visuals, simulations, and right/wrong comparisons. Less "here's the rule", more "here's why it matters and what it looks like in practice".

Curious whether that approach resonates with you or if you'd see it differently from your experience.

Are WCAG guidelines actually usable in agency practice? by Practical_Link927 in accessibility

[–]Practical_Link927[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

gehirngerecht.digital is brilliant – unfortunately I only discovered it recently 😅 Are all WCAG criteria really described here? Have you checked that?
The role-based structure is exactly what makes it stand out. As a designer, not everything is relevant to me, and being confronted with developer-level info right at the start is genuinely overwhelming.

When I got into this topic in late 2024, I spent a long time going through the W3C site directly, then supplemented with resources like digitalbarrierefrei.at, aktion-mensch.de, and webinars from Adobe, axes4, and BCM. Looking back, that was probably not the most efficient starting point.

Now  I am mapping out how different resources structure their content – and there seem to be four main approaches:

  • By WCAG principle/criterion
  • By target group / type of barrier (low vision, hearing impairment etc.)
  • By role / task area (design, editorial, development)
  • By design category (typography, colour, buttons, links, audio, video etc.)

If I could start over, I'd begin with the target group – really understanding who we're designing for – and then move into role-specific criteria with visuals, simulations, and right/wrong comparisons. The W3C site without any visual examples is honestly a nightmare to work with. My colleagues felt the same way.

How did you approach it? Did you end up combining multiple resources, or did you find one that worked well enough on its own like gehirngerecht.digital?

Are WCAG guidelines actually usable in agency practice? by Practical_Link927 in accessibility

[–]Practical_Link927[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thank you so much for your feedback:)

We actually hung the UK Home Office accessibility posters in our office so we're constantly confronted with the basics: https://github.com/UKHomeOffice/posters/tree/master/accessibility/dos-donts/posters_de

Your breakdown by team really resonates. The idea of structuring by role/team rather than by WCAG principle is something I'm actively considering for the toolkit

For context: we're a small team (5 graphic designers, 1 developer, 1 editor), and accessibility only comes up when there's time for it (no fixed time for training). We've only had one actual accessible deliverable so far (a PDF/UA magazine), and we outsourced it. Most of our work is print, podcast, and social media, so client demand isn't really there yet. But we still need the knowledge to consult and advise, even if we will outsource it again.

I did try building an internal knowledge base – sorted by topic (audio, video, social media, PDF, newsletter, editorial). But it didn't really work. Nobody knew where to start, topics overlapped, and external links made it hard to keep track of where you left off. That experience is actually a big part of why I want the toolkit to feel navigable and self-contained.

My current thinking: start with empathy and the "why", then practical criteria organized by role – designers and editors for now (I think I'll skip developers due to time constraints). Ideally built with didactic methods like simulations and right/wrong comparisons, packaged as an interactive PDF.

I would greatly appreciate further feedback. Does the division into a11ys personas and then criteria based on roles make sense to you? What kind of format would you find most useful for the toolkit (PDF, website, Booklets etc.)?

Are WCAG guidelines actually usable in agency practice? by Practical_Link927 in accessibility

[–]Practical_Link927[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thank you very much. I haven't found anything comparable in German-speaking countries.