How to make your brand more accessible

If you’re unfamiliar with WCAG, it’s essentially the go-to for all things digital accessibility. Think of it as your rulebook for ensuring that everyone can experience and consume your brand at every touchpoint, regardless of any physical, sensory or cognitive challenges they may have.

These rules are broken down into four key principles:

• Perceivable: This relates to how your users interact with content and that depends on certain senses. So for example, this includes things like providing captions for videos, alt text for images and transcripts for video.
• Operable: Whether your website is compatible with assistive technologies (i.e. keyboard access, screenreaders).
• Understandable: Essentially just common sense – making sure your content is written in a way that’s easy for the audience to understand.
• Robust: Ensuring the application of your brand translates well across all devices and browsers.

So now you know the “why”, let’s dive into the “how”. Here are a few steps you can take to improve your brand’s accessibility.

(Spoiler alert: you’ll end up with a more inclusive, user-friendly brand in the process…)

1. Contrast is key:

Providing enough of a contrast between your text and background colours is crucial. No one should have to squint, or worse – give up on reading your content entirely, because it’s near impossible to read. With tools like WebAIM’s contrast checker at your disposal, this one really is a remarkably easy fix and you’ll be surprised how much difference it makes.

2. The value of alt text:

Writing descriptions for images and visuals (aka ‘alt text’) is an inclusive practice. Providing a detailed description of what’s going on in the photo gives members of your audience using screen readers the opportunity to consume the content too. And it really is in the detail – for example, just writing “dog” is technically fine, but writing “golden retriever wearing a guide dog harness” provides the reader with a much more immersive experience. And don’t forget – alt text is also great for your search engine optimisation (SEO) and email deliverability.

3. Readability:

In choosing fonts that are easy to read, in a web safe sans-serif font is best. This way, your brand will retain consistency and recognition across all online and offline touchpoints. Including guidance in your brand guidelines around text sizing and application will also help everyone in your organisation ensure your selected typefaces are used as intended.

4. Include captions as standard:

Videos are a huge part of brand storytelling. But if you’re not making them accessible, you’re excluding a large chunk of your audience. Captions benefit people with hearing impairments, but they’re also really useful for anyone watching your video content on mute (think commuters or people killing time waiting for an appointment).

5. Consider keyboard navigation:

Many people within your audience will be using a keyboard to navigate your website, so if they can’t do that with ease you’re essentially putting a barrier between them and your brand. This is one you can try for yourself – put the mouse away for a bit and see how your website performs. It’s a great way to quickly identify any accessibility gaps that need addressing.

The Trussell Trust made waves earlier this month when it revealed its new brand identity as “Trussell”.

They discovered that what had been working for the brand in the early 2000’s had in fact been creating barriers for audience members who needed access to vital support. Many of its brand assets – including their fonts, colours and digital platforms – sadly didn’t meet WCAG’s accessibility standards.

This inspired a full brand refresh – co-designed with people with lived experience of hardship and food banks, including those working on the frontline, to help ensure it was built with and for the people Trussell aims to serve. The new logo shortens the charity’s name to more simply ‘Trussell’ and incorporates a new strapline – Ending hunger together – to emphasise its ambition. Alongside this, the charity made updates to their visual identity, colours and fonts and updated the website to be more accessible and provide a smoother, simpler online support journey.

This accessible rebrand demonstrates the charity’s commitment to doing all they can to reach people needing support. And we applaud them for taking these steps to put their audience first.

Creating an accessible brand is a vital step in removing any barriers that could stand between you and your audience. By following these steps, you’ll reach a wider audience, connect on a deeper level and build trust.

And remember this: accessible design isn’t a one-time thing – it’s an ongoing conversation. And trust me when I say it’s one worth having.

Looking for support future-proofing your brand’s accessibility to make sure everyone feels connected and included? Get in touch and we’ll be more than happy to help you get started.