Your road to digital accessibility

In a rapidly evolving digital landscape, the power of accessibility cannot be overstated.
If you’re taking your first steps and venturing into the world of digital accessibility, congratulations! At this point, you might have a pretty good comprehension of what accessibility entails and why it is important, but you could be stuck on how to proceed to make sure your digital content is as accessible as it can be.

Throughout this article, we will unveil a dynamic range of accessibility services designed to transform your digital presence. From web audits to brand book enhancements, our offer is more than compliance; it is a pathway to equity and inclusivity for all users, so let’s get right into it!

Before you can make any changes to your digital content, you will need to have a clear representation of your current accessibility score, so the best thing is to start with an accessibility audit.

Ideally, we would start the auditing process with a VBL, Brand Book, and Brand Guidelines as the core of any produced asset or brand material. However, we understand this isn’t always possible, so any of your digital assets or platforms is a good starting point. Below, you will find a list of some of the digital content that we can audit:

● VBLs/Brand Books/Brand Guidelines
● Wireframes and designs
● Storyboards
● Websites
● Social Media Channels
● Digital Assets (videos, banners, etc.)
● PDFs

The way we perform accessibility audits is through a combination of a tool check and a manual check. While accessibility tools are efficient and can cover a lot of ground, they lack the comprehension a human touch can provide. At CMG, we believe in bringing humanity to digital, so our audits always include a combination of both a tool check and a manual one, resulting in a detailed report with instructions on what to optimize to accommodate accessibility standards.

Depending on the asset, the suggestions for optimization will vary. For example, a website audit will likely report fixing alt tags, while this will not be the case with a video or storyboard audit. Each asset is unique, as is its audit report. To give you a better idea of what the results can entail, you can find a short list of some of the items our accessibility experts have been implementing upon the audit completions:

• Storyboard amendments
• Voice-over recordings on videos – We provide the option of a human voice-over or an AI voice-over recording
• Closed captions amendments and implementation
• Transcript creation and implementation
• Color contrast amendment
• Textual updates

With technology rapidly advancing, digital accessibility standards are always evolving. In order to keep up, our team is continuously learning and keeping pace with the changes, meaning that our services regarding digital accessibility are continuously expanding. In addition to the already mentioned services, there are a few more areas in which our expertise might be useful to you and your company.

Except for the main accessibility services we offer, there are many more that can boost your accessibility rating and make your assets and platforms stand out.

• VBL/Brandbook updates or creation from scratch
As Brand Guardians, we are committed to creating a document that will ensure your brand, the core of who you are, is represented accurately and consistently while keeping in mind accessibility values.

• Support setting up Company accessibility standards
Although WCAG 2.0 clearly defines the accessibility requirements through three levels (A, AA, AAA), with only level AA being mandatory, some companies opt for creating their own standards that incorporate some aspects of non-mandatory levels. This is a great way to meet the mandatory requirements while providing additional value, and we’re here to help!

• Creation of Accessibility Playbooks
If there’s anything we love at CMG, it’s playbooks! We can help you create a document depicting accessibility requirements that can be used as an internal guideline or shared with other agency partners working with your company, ensuring all produced assets are accessible to a wide range of audiences.

• Coordination with your company’s creative and production agencies
Whether you’re at the beginning of a new journey and are just initiating the creative concept or already starting the production process, we will gladly guide you and work with your agency partners before the final product is completed.

• Accessibility consulting
Our team of accessibility experts is passionate about this topic, and they’re just waiting for someone to share their knowledge with. Should you choose to go the consulting route, you will receive your very own point of contact, an expert who will be more than happy to answer any accessibility-related questions you may have.

• Accessibility workshops
CMG’s Accessibility Duo has been holding workshops in our long-term partners’ offices across the globe. The workshops are interactive and easy to understand, giving you and the team a good discussion topic at your next team meeting.

Now that you have a better understanding of how we can help, don’t hesitate to get in touch. We’re excited to make digital more accessible for everyone.

 

 

Author: Ela Jokić, Project Management Team Lead