Accessibility for Designers Workshop September 2026
I will be offering my Accessibility for Designers workshop as a live, 8-hour workshop on Zoom. This is based on the 6-hour workshop I've done at Truist and Access U (you can read quotes from prior students on my main training page). I'm adding an extra 2 hours so that I can give a quick review of basic topics and assistive technology for those that come in with a limited background.
Time and dates
The workshop will be held Wednesdays, 11am-1pm Eastern, on
- September 9
- September 16
- September 23
- September 30
Cost
The workshop is free! Why? Because I love teaching this workshop, and because I'm hoping to get more people to fill out my survey.
Registration
To register for the workshop, take my my 10-minute Qualtrics survey.
At the end of the survey, enter your name and email address and you will be given a link to register for the workshop. Please use the same name and email address on both the survey and registration so I can approve your registration.
Why have a survey?
I created the survey to understand what designers already know about accessibility and what are their gaps. I'll use the results to help me redesign my workshop and add extra activities such as quizzes, exams, practice homework, and/or a peer workspace.
Who should take the workshop?
Roles: the workshop is targeted toward designers, content writers, and UX researchers. It will also appeal to generalists.
Media: about two-thirds of the class is general and applies to websites, mobile apps, PDF documents, email, presentations, etc. Most of the examples are drawn from websites and a few from mobile apps.
Can I get IAAP CAECs?
I am not yet an approved Quality Accessibility Content Provider, but people have had success in the past getting credits for my workshops. I'll provide you the documentation you'll need to submit.
Do I need to know how to program?
No, this is a code-free workshop! My goal is to help you understand the information you need to put into your annotations so that the developers that will come along after you and write code are set up for success.
You will get more out of the workshop if you can look at HTML and CSS and understand it, but you don't need to be able to write it yourself.
I do have a degree in Computer Science and the IAAP Web Accessibility Specialist certification so I can answer questions about web code, but I'm not going to introduce a lot of code concepts.
Can I get a copy of your slides?
Yes, I will share my slides as an accessible PowerPoint file prior to the workshop.
What if I miss a session?
I will make recordings of the workshop available to registered attendees through the end of October.
Learning Objectives
- Understand how to create accessible website visuals especially non-text content, infographics, and multi-column layouts.
- Understand annotations to set developers up for success, including headings, order, labels, and screen reader text.
- Understand how to write usable screen reader content for buttons, links, icons, chevrons, and paging controls.
Topics
This is a rough outline of the topics I will cover in the workshop. Please check back as the workshop dates get close to see the final topic list.
Last updated: August 20, 2026
Week 1: September 9
- Introduction
- Who we design for
- Flashing and Photosensitive Epilepsy
- Severity and Importance
- Visual Sensitivities and animation
Week 2: September 16
- Cognitive disabilities and usability
- Colorblindness
- Low vision and screen magnifiers
Week 3: September 23
- Motor impairments
- Speech recognition
- Screen readers, Part 1
Week 4: September 30
- Screen readers, Part 2
- Writing for screen readers
- Usability testing with screen reader users: benefits and difficulties
- Recommended bookmarklets
- Recommended chrome extensions
- Recommended websites to bookmark