Davidson Belluso is focusing on accessibility issues as part of our web and content development process.
With the rise of the global pandemic over the past year, we’ve all had to find different ways to communicate away from traditional in-person methods. In many cases, there has been a greater focus on web and video content, but without a focus on accessibility, the transition is not always a seamless one for some users.
The Centers for Disease Control estimates that 26% of adults in the U.S. suffer from some form of disability that excludes them from accessing all the features and content on the websites they frequent.
As our friends at the Arizona Commission for the Deaf and the Hard of Hearing like to say, access to communication is a human right. As an agency, Davidson Belluso is focusing on providing that level of accessibility.
“When we first founded this agency 20 years ago, we committed ourselves to serving the community with our work,” said Michela Belluso, CEO. “That absolutely extends to making sure that our work serves all possible audiences and makes the community more accessible to everyone. In many cases, it may be a small effort, but it pays off in a big way for the good of so many.”
One area of focus is making websites ADA compliant, from coding for screen readers to making site elements reachable through standard arrow keys. We take into consideration ADA requirements and best practices, including, but not limited to:
- High color contrast
- Readable font styles and sizes
- Thoughtful button design
- Identifiable links
- Strategic text formatting
- Mindful form design
- Descriptive alt text for images
- Functionality available from the keyboard
For the deaf and hard of hearing community, including more than 1.1 million Arizonans, video content can be notoriously inaccessible. We are also working to ensure that all our video projects, for both Davidson Belluso and clients, include captioning to serve this audience. Further, we have added captions to all of the video content on our website.
Ultimately, accessibility is an issue that affects us all in some shape or form. The more we can make it a priority, the better it is for everyone in our community.
Learn more about accessibility in the workplace as part of the Arizona Commission for the Deaf and the Hard of Hearing’s Let’s Get to Work campaign.
