Improve Accessibility with These Five Plugins for Adobe XD and Google Chrome
Hi! I’m Aga Naplocha, a UX Designer and Front-end Developer who’s been at Adobe for six years. This article is for designers, developers, and people who both design and develop.
Accessibility (often abbreviated as #a11y) should be a fundamental way of how we think about design. It might seem tough, and we don’t always have time to focus on accessibility issues. However, it’s our duty to incorporate it in our daily workflows step-by-step.
There are many useful websites and articles on accessibility, but today I’d like to focus on plugins you can use straight away in Adobe XD and your web browser.
1. Stark — check your contrast (Adobe XD plugin)
If you would like to have an easy access to Contrast Checker and Colorblind Simulations, you can download Stark for Adobe XD for free.
Download (this link will launch Adobe XD)
Editor’s Note: Stark founders have visited our offices and joined us at Adobe MAX for several years running. We’re proud to have them as one of the first plugins launched for Adobe XD!
2. Wave (Chrome Plugin)
If you’re looking for a tool that will automate your accessibility audit, you should definitely check out Wave. It gives a comprehensive insight into potential problems with accessibility on your website.
3. Accessibility Insights for Web (Chrome Plugin)
Short on time? Let this plugin quickly find any #a11y issues on your website. It might be particularly helpful for developers.
4. NoCoffee (Chrome Plugin)
If you would like to explore vision problems more thoroughly, you should definitely check out the NoCoffee plugin. As the authors state: “NoCoffee can be helpful for understanding the problems faced by people with slight to extreme vision problems”. It really changes our perspective on how we can help people reading the internet as designers and developers.
5. Dyslexia Reading Assistant (Chrome Plugin)
Colors are important, but we can’t forget about the reading experience. Ensuring comfort for people who suffer from dyslexia should be on our list as well.
The Dyslexia Reading Assistant plugin fro Chrome gives insight into how the reading experience and typography differs for people with dyslexia.
Of course, there are many other helpful tools you can add to your designers’ and developers’ essentials. Happily, accessibility is becoming a more popular topic in our work, so we can build a better digital world for all people.
