Accessibility and Design Course

Lesson 1 • History of Accessible Design

Traces accessible design from post-war rehabilitation movements to modern universal design. Provides historical motivation for current standards and practices.

Lesson 2 • Business and Ethical Case for Accessibility

Quantifies market reach, legal risk reduction, and brand equity gained through accessible design. Equips students to advocate for accessibility investment.

Lesson 3 • Disability Models and Perspectives

Contrasts medical, social, and biopsychosocial models of disability. Shapes the ethical lens students apply throughout the course.

Lesson 4 • Defining Accessibility in Design

Clarifies what accessibility means across physical, digital, and communication contexts. Anchors all subsequent chapters in a shared, precise definition.

Lesson 1 • Assistive Technology Ecosystem

Maps the range of assistive technologies users rely on across disability categories. Ensures students design with real tool constraints and capabilities in mind.

Lesson 2 • Auditory and Speech Disabilities

Covers deafness, hard of hearing, and speech impairments and their media and interaction needs. Establishes the foundation for captioning and alternative communication design.

Lesson 3 • Motor and Physical Disabilities

Examines limited dexterity, paralysis, and tremor and their impact on interaction design. Grounds keyboard navigation and touch target decisions in real user context.

Lesson 4 • Visual Disabilities and Design Needs

Covers blindness, low vision, and color vision deficiency and their design implications. Directly informs colour, contrast, and layout decisions in later chapters.

Lesson 1 • Size and Space for Approach and Use

Applies spatial design principles for users of varying size, posture, and mobility aids. Bridges universal design theory to physical environment and product layout practice.

Lesson 2 • Perceptible Information Principle

Teaches redundant coding across sensory channels to communicate essential information. Prepares students for multimodal design decisions in digital and physical contexts.

Lesson 3 • Flexibility and Simple Use Principles

Covers adaptability to user preferences and elimination of unnecessary complexity. Connects directly to cognitive load reduction and motor accommodation techniques.

Lesson 4 • Equitable Use Principle

Defines equitable use and distinguishes it from equal treatment. Students apply this principle to identify exclusionary design patterns.

Lesson 1 • Colour Theory and Contrast Accessibility

Teaches contrast ratio requirements and colour-independent information encoding. Directly addresses visual disability needs identified in Chapter 2.

Lesson 2 • Accessible Imagery and Icons

Addresses alt text strategy, decorative vs. informative image classification, and icon labelling. Prepares students to make every visual asset accessible.

Lesson 3 • Layout and Visual Hierarchy

Applies grid systems, whitespace, and visual grouping to reduce cognitive load. Ensures predictable structure that benefits screen reader and sighted users alike.

Lesson 4 • Accessible Typography

Covers typeface selection, size, spacing, and line length for maximum readability. Supports users with low vision and cognitive disabilities simultaneously.

Lesson 1 • Plain Language and Readable Content

Applies plain language principles to reduce reading level and cognitive demand. Directly supports users with cognitive and literacy-related disabilities.

Lesson 2 • Accessible Forms and Interactive Elements

Covers label association, error identification, and keyboard-operable form controls. Addresses motor and cognitive disability needs from Chapter 2.

Lesson 3 • Semantic Structure and Heading Hierarchy

Teaches proper use of headings, lists, and landmarks to create navigable document structure. Builds directly on visual hierarchy concepts from Chapter 4.

Lesson 4 • PDF and Document Accessibility

Covers tagging, reading order, and metadata requirements for accessible PDF and office documents. Extends web accessibility skills to common document formats.

Lesson 1 • Touch and Pointer Accessibility

Applies minimum touch target sizing, gesture alternatives, and pointer cancellation techniques. Addresses mobile and tablet interaction for users with motor disabilities.

Lesson 2 • ARIA Roles, States, and Properties

Covers ARIA landmark roles, live regions, and widget patterns for dynamic content. Enables students to make custom components accessible beyond native HTML.

Lesson 3 • Motion, Animation, and Sensory Design

Addresses vestibular disorders, photosensitivity, and cognitive distraction caused by motion. Teaches reduced-motion preferences and flicker threshold compliance.

Lesson 4 • Keyboard Navigation and Focus Management

Teaches logical tab order, visible focus indicators, and focus trap management. Builds on motor disability knowledge from Chapter 2 and semantic structure from Chapter 5.

Lesson 1 • Testing with Assistive Technologies

Provides hands-on protocols for testing with major screen readers and voice control software. Builds practical skill in evaluating real assistive technology compatibility.

Lesson 2 • User Testing with Disabled Participants

Teaches ethical recruitment, session facilitation, and analysis of usability tests with disabled users. Grounds evaluation in authentic user experience beyond technical compliance.

Lesson 3 • Automated Testing Tools and Workflows

Surveys browser extensions, CI pipeline tools, and linting rules for automated accessibility checks. Establishes the first layer of a multi-method testing strategy.

Lesson 4 • Manual Testing Techniques

Covers keyboard-only navigation testing, screen reader testing protocols, and zoom testing. Addresses the 70% of issues automated tools cannot detect.

Lesson 1 • Sustaining Accessibility Over Time

Addresses regression prevention, continuous monitoring, and accessibility culture maintenance. Closes the course by preparing students for ongoing professional practice.

Lesson 2 • Agile and Lean Accessibility Integration

Inserts accessibility criteria into user stories, definition of done, and sprint reviews. Prevents accessibility debt accumulation in iterative development environments.

Lesson 3 • Building an Accessibility Maturity Programme

Applies maturity models to assess and advance organisational accessibility capability. Equips students to lead long-term accessibility transformation initiatives.

Lesson 4 • Accessibility in Design Systems

Embeds accessible tokens, component documentation, and usage guidelines into design systems. Scales individual accessible design decisions across entire product suites.