Is your brand’s visual identity excluding millions of customers? 

Visual impairments and disabilities are common globally, but low contrast colors, illegible fonts, cluttered interfaces, and other elements can make it challenging for affected individuals to use your content. 

It’s on us as marketers to build stronger brand identities. Creating more accessible designs can help our brands appeal to a wider user base and foster a stronger sense of inclusivity. 

Keep reading to discover more about accessible design and how to incorporate it into your organization’s visual identity.

What accessible brand visuals really mean

Having accessible visuals is a crucial step toward achieving true inclusivity in your branding because it enables all users to engage. 

Visual impairments include low vision, color blindness, and other disabilities. Globally, at least 2.2 billion people experience near or distance vision impairment. Color vision deficiency – also known as color blindness – affects an estimated 300 million people.

Rather than treating accessibility as an add-on, consider it from the start. Universal design (UD) is an approach to creating products, environments, and buildings that are inherently usable by everyone. When UD is followed, users shouldn’t need any extra modifications to engage with your content. 

According to Google's Head of Brand Accessibility KR Liu, 

“Like other forms of inclusion, accessibility should be a constant commitment that’s embedded into every aspect of your brand campaigns – from conception to execution, and beyond.”

Contrast, typography, imagery, layout, and data visualization can all contribute to UD. Marketers and designers should use these elements to appeal to and engage with the widest possible audience.

Why visual accessibility is strategic for businesses

Considering accessibility in designs and development often leads to innovation that benefits a much broader audience. Your content becomes more seamless and convenient for users to engage with. Likewise, products and services developed with accessibility as a core consideration can reach four times as many customers as those that are not.

A more inclusive approach can increase customer engagement and overall brand reputation, which marketing professionals can achieve by:

  • Expanding market research: Include real people with disabilities in your research and testing to gain quantitative and qualitative data about how accessible your visuals are.
  • Enhancing brand perception: When users with visual disabilities have a more positive experience interacting with you, you begin to strengthen your reputation as an ethical and inclusive company.
  • Improving usability and SEO: Providing alternative text (alt text) for images and maintaining a clear page layout can enhance the user experience for all users and improve search rankings.
  • Complying with standards: As anti-discrimination laws and accessibility regulations evolve, legal risks of digital discrimination may include lawsuits, government fines, or reputational damage.

Achieving equitable visual design is an ongoing effort. It requires organizations to evaluate their visual identity, participate in further learning, and solicit feedback from various user audiences continuously.

Guide to building an accessible visual identity

So, how can you go about building a more accessible visual identity for your organization? Here are three steps to get you started.

1. Start with company culture

Accessibility must be embedded into your company’s culture. This could involve giving designers and marketers proper education on UD and accessibility standards, as well as leaders hiring more diverse staff members. When accessibility is at the forefront of your team’s mind, they’ll create user-oriented solutions.

Former CEO of Qantas Alan Joyce followed this principle, stating, 

“We have a very diverse environment and a very inclusive culture. [Those characteristics] got us through the tough times… [D]iversity generated a better strategy, better risk management, better debates, and better outcomes.”

Creating an accessible brand requires a collaborative effort, which 75% of employees believe is essential in the workplace. Marketing, design, development, and legal teams should work together to research, plan, and test brand visuals. This approach can lead to a more accessible brand overall, not simply in one aspect of its practices.

2. Gather insights from your audience

Feedback is a powerful resource for shaping your visual identity. It is critical to test websites, products, and other offerings with individuals who have disabilities. 

Determining how people with visual impairments and other disabilities interact with your website can reveal what’s working and what needs improvement. There are plenty of organizations out there that can help you conduct real user testing, assistive technology testing, and accessibility audits to set you on the right path.

When asked what design skill she thinks is underrated, Director of Product Inclusion and Equity at Google, Annie Jean-Baptiste, answered, 

“Empathy. In order to build for someone else, you must ask, ‘Who else?’ Who else needs to be in the room? Who else must be driving the work forward? Who is missing?”

Your staff members may also have helpful insights, either based on their own experiences with visual disabilities, having family members with impairments or their technical knowledge of designing for accessibility. Welcoming more voices to the conversation can result in a broader array of perspectives, leading to more accessible solutions.

3. Understand the elements of accessible visuals

Many technical factors contribute to accessibility visual design, including:

  • Color and contrast: Color contrast refers to the difference in shade or brightness that makes objects distinguishable from one another. High contrast is easier for everyone to read, especially those with color vision deficiency or visual impairments.
  • Typography: Font style, size, and spacing all influence legibility. Accessible typography has distinct characters and good spacing.
  • Imagery and alternative text: Alt text briefly describes an image’s purpose and content. It’s primarily used by screen readers and search engines.
  • Data visualization: Data can be crucial for conveying information, so it must be presented clearly. When creating graphs and charts, designers should use labels, patterns, and clear structures – not simply color – for distinctions and categorization.

See accessibility in action

Microsoft is known for integrating accessibility into its core design philosophy. It implements UD with simple, clear software interfaces and customization possibilities, from personalized themes to integrations with external apps. The enterprise used accessibility checkers and tools during its product and design development processes, and it adheres to standards such as the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines.

Such inclusivity stems from a focus on audience needs. Microsoft’s Inclusive Lead Bryce Johnson shares, 

“I strive for compassion and altruism. I want to do the right thing, so I'm going to go out and listen to people, hear their stories, really understand their stories, and try not to internalize it.”

While Microsoft is an example of success, other well-known brands have faced lawsuits over an inaccessible design. For instance, Nike Inc. was sued in 2017 because its website wasn’t compatible with screen readers, lacked alternative text for images, and had empty link text, among other concerns.

These issues violated the Americans with Disabilities Act and some state laws. Ultimately, Nike Inc. was required to update its website and pay for compensation and legal fees, which could have been avoided if UD had been integrated from the start.

Visual branding for everyone

Accessible visuals aren’t just about ticking compliance boxes – they’re about making your brand work better for everyone. When accessibility is baked into your visuals from the start, it becomes a genuine strategic advantage. 

It takes collaboration, learning, and a willingness to evolve as standards and technology change. But by understanding universal design and staying current with accessibility guidelines, leaders, marketers, and designers can help build brand experiences that truly welcome everyone.