From Parts to Whole – Beyond Design System
summary
Design systems alone do not guarantee accessible products; components can be technically correct but fail in the user journey, as with Kavya, a 74‑year‑old whose accessible button and banner still leave her uninformed. Practical fixes: document patterns and templates, provide pattern-level documentation and annotation kits, add baked‑in checks (Figma plugins, linters like a11y, Axe/WAVE) and manual testing with VoiceOver/TalkBack/NVDA/JAWS. Automated tools catch about 40% of issues; the rest requires culture, workflows, and templates that enforce end‑to‑end accessibility.
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chapters (13)
- 0:00Introduction and speaker intro
- 1:06Hypothetical accessibility failure scenario
- 5:16Accessibility beyond components
- 9:55Design systems as stepping stones
- 12:08Atomic design and accessibility hierarchy
- 15:48Annotation kits and handover documentation
- 17:36Integrating accessibility into workflows
- 21:39Design systems as accessibility hubs
- 25:42Cultural shift for accessibility
- 27:16Stakeholder archetypes in accessibility
- 33:33Shared responsibility for accessibility
- 36:59Balancing accessibility with priorities
- 38:25Closing and Q&A session
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