070-075: Accessibility Changemakers

This is a 6-part series all about Accessibility Changemakers: conversations with persons with disabilities, as well as allies of persons with disabilities, all of whom are working to make the world a more inclusive place through their creative leadership.

070: Meet Kevin Shaw, an entrepreneur with a mission to build, lead and inspire. Kevin grew up with low vision and lost his vision entirely at the age of 19. In this conversation, Kevin speaks to the medical model of disability versus the social model of disability, including the ways in which people aren’t disabled; rather it’s environments that are disabling. Kevin explains how he navigates physical and digital spaces, demonstrating screen reading technology within accessible and inaccessible digital environments. Finally Kevin provides his take on what companies are doing right from an accessibility standpoint and where they still have a ways to go, leading him to explain his latest technology venture, MenuVox. This episode is a must-listen for anyone who designs digital spaces and documents, including websites, software and PDF files.

071: Meet Lee Eldridge, a workflow automations specialist who has a long history of helping facilitate accessible communications solutions. In this episode, Lee helps us understand what many clients, large and small, are thinking when it comes to organizational accessibility efforts. Lee suggests the need for freely-available, legislation-compliant accessibility training provided by the government to help more individuals create accessible communication pieces. Lee also speaks to the ways in which he feels governments might start reacting to accessibility non-compliance in the near future.

072: Meet Josh Skinner, a Registered Graphic Designer (RGD), post-secondary instructor and senior product designer who is passionate about equity and accessibility. In this conversation, Josh discusses the design process and the role accessibility plays in it, the importance of truly defining what ‘accessibility’ means for your project and that accessibility can (and should) be more than a checklist. Furthermore, Josh sets the record straight that designing more inclusively does not have to mean losing your brand’s voice.

073: Meet Mel Sutjiadi, is a QTPOC multi-disciplinary creative director, designer, illustrator, developer, and educator who loves to solve problems through design. They are a Registered Graphic Designer (RGD) and they were recently announced as a finalist for the RGD’s ULTRABOLD Awards, celebrating emerging designers under 35 who are making an impact on the design community and beyond. In this conversation, Mel provides practical tips for thinking about and building more accessible digital experiences for as many people as possible. They expand our preconceived ideas about accessibility and share that accessibility needs are not as far removed from ourselves as we might think. Lastly, Mel reminds us of the power we have as designers and that with restrictions comes great design.

074: Meet Theresa Mabe, a visually-impaired higher education marketing professional with a degree in digital media and web technology. Theresa is incredibly knowledgeable and beautifully articulate about digital accessibility. In today’s conversation, Theresa focuses on accessibility within social media platforms (primarily Instagram), including giving us the low down on which social media platforms are outperforming others when it comes to accessibility. Theresa also dives into two inaccessible practices that she sees all the time on social media (and why to avoid them!). Furthermore, her savvy marketing mind reminds us of the brand recognition benefits of creating accessible content, including examples of brands who are getting it right. This episode is for anyone who posts content to social media and it’s one you don’t want to miss!

075: Meet Kelly and Adam, both university accessibility specialists. In this conversation, they walk us through the current status of accessible publishing, including how technology has evolved in 15 years, as well as barriers that still exist today and what the library is doing to make access to accessible documents easier. Kelly and Adam describe the ways in which technologies (including AI) will not remove all barriers to accessibility and why humans will remain at the forefront of inclusion efforts for the foreseeable future.