Or: How to think like someone who gives a damn
Accessibility isn’t just a checklist. It’s a way of seeing the world differently – of noticing barriers you might’ve stepped over without even realizing they were there.
The following models aren’t rules. They’re thought tools – little lenses you can use to spot problems, shift perspective, and ask better questions. Some are borrowed from other disciplines. Some we made up. All of them are useful.
The ramp mindset
A ramp doesn’t just help someone in a wheelchair – it helps a parent with a stroller, someone on crutches, a traveler dragging a suitcase, a kid on a scooter, or a delivery driver with a trolley.
Accessibility often starts with a specific barrier. But when you solve it well, the solution ends up helping way more people than you expected.
It’s not a niche feature. It’s just good design.
The invisible user
Most people won’t tell you they’re having trouble. They’ll just leave.
They won’t write to your support inbox about the low-contrast text or the unlabelled buttons or the form that disappears their error messages. They’ll bounce. And they might not come back.
Design like someone’s struggling – and hasn’t told you. Because they probably are.
The one-handed test
Try using your website or app with one hand. Or no hands. Try it without looking. Try it without sound.
Could you do it? Could someone else?
Constraints aren’t edge cases. They’re reality. And designing for them helps everyone.
The 3am rule
Is your interface usable when you’re tired, stressed, and barely functioning? Because that’s exactly when people need it to work.
Imagine trying to submit a travel form while jetlagged. Or logging in during a crisis. Or finding your vaccine record while holding a screaming toddler.
If it works at 3am when your brain is mush, it’s probably accessible.
The grandmother test
People often say something is “intuitive” when they really mean “I’m already familiar with it.” But not everyone shares your context.
If you handed your site to someone who doesn’t work in tech, would they know what to do? What about someone who didn’t grow up using a computer?
Test with people outside your bubble. Design like your grandmother’s using it for the first time – and she’s on a mobile phone, using a screen magnifier, with the brightness turned all the way down.
Accessibility isn’t about perfection. It’s about perspective. And once you start seeing it, you can’t unsee it.