At Cúram, we believe digital accessibility is essential for creating inclusive designs that work for everyone. It can promote inclusivity for the whole population, including people with disabilities or impairments, but also people with temporary challenges like a broken hand, as well as older adults, or anyone in tricky environments like bright sunlight or noisy workplaces.
Accessible design is more than a box-ticking exercise; it’s about removing barriers, fostering empathy, and ensuring equal participation in what modern technology can offer. For the public sector, and specifically social services, this commitment translates to directly improving the lives of populations who rely on government systems to access critical resources, including vulnerable people. But it’s also about empowering government employees who use these systems daily, enabling them to work more efficiently and effectively.
That’s why we’ve developed three key design principles to guide the way we approach designing for accessibility, for everyone.
1. Design with empathy
Design for inclusivity by understanding user needs
Successful accessibility initiatives start with inclusive design that prioritizes empathy. You can’t create systems and services for people when you don’t understand their needs. Engaging end users, whether they are caseworkers, beneficiaries, or program managers, ensures their lived experiences inform each step of development and guide product functionality. Foster empathy by engaging representative users from the concept stage, gathering feedback through ongoing testing, and refining solutions to meet real needs.
Example in action: The rollout of the benefits services to citizens across Scotland is a great example of how to approach user-centred design specifically for accessibility. The team embodied the principles of keeping the citizens of Scotland continuously at the heart of the project, through codesigning and iterative feedback. In total, 1,500 service users, all with a range of personal circumstances and experiences, were consulted during the design process, including many people who rely on disability benefits.1 Caseworkers were also involved, because it’s not only the end users of services that need to be considered; government staff are key enablers to the success of digital platforms in public services.
Design decisions around simplifying the structure of content on a page screen and how it is displayed can help to reduce the cognitive load, reducing barriers for people with cognitive disabilities, but also improving readability and creating a better, more user-friendly experience for everyone else engaging with the service. Headings structure, text and background color combinations, color contrast ratio, and consistent use of icons are examples of visual design elements that should all be considered and incorporated in end-user testing for a more universal design.
2. Build in, don’t bolt on
Build accessibility into systems from the start
Adding accessibility as an afterthought, or “bolting it on,” rarely produces a robust user experience. It also tends to inflate costs, as retrofitting accessibility is often more expensive and resource-intensive. Instead, accessibility needs to be “baked into” a product’s lifecycle from the outset.
Example in action: A national government agency focused on employment and social development worked with Cúram to shift accessibility efforts from pure compliance-driven fixes to a strategic prioritization model based on user impact. Focusing on fixes with the most significant implications improved usability while conserving resources. Their approach ensured smoother rollouts with zero reported accessibility issues after launch, ultimately reducing time wasted revisiting earlier phases.
By adopting inclusive practices upfront, you may find your designs naturally lead to simpler, more streamlined user interfaces that make systems easier to use for everyone—not just users requiring assistive technologies (e.g. screen readers) or other accessibility features.
3. Cultivate the mindset
Create a cross-functional accessibility mindset
While accessibility often falls to designers and developers, it must be a cross-functional priority for teams from product managers to QA testers and even senior leadership. Accessibility should run across your processes, from inception to deployment. Leadership commitment, workforce training, and integrated guidelines are essential to create a seamless culture that values accessibility.
To implement an accessibility mindset throughout your organization, provide ongoing accessibility training and resources, establish advocates or “champions” at every level, and embed accessibility requirements and criteria into procurement and product roadmaps.
Focus areas for sustained accessibility improvement
To create inclusive platforms with longevity, consider the following key strategies:
- Technology modernization: Choose tech stacks and tools that allow platforms and web page to integrate accessible design features, adapting as accessibility standards evolve e.g. the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG), and the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).
- Continuous testing and iteration: Accessibility is a moving target. Regular usability assessments, including input from caseworkers and beneficiaries, will help identify new opportunities for improvement.
- Embedding accessibility into strategy: Make accessibility part of your organization’s core DNA, not merely a compliance checkbox. This includes building accessibility priorities into procurement efforts, team goals, and future digital product roadmaps.
Empower communities through accessible digital design
By rethinking digital accessibility, organizations can drive real change, delivering services that are human-centred, and impactful. Whether it’s adopting a user-centric approach or aligning accessibility efforts with leadership priorities, every accessibility initiative contributes to building an inclusive society.
In health and human services, taking an accessibility-centered approach to service design helps to reduce barriers for everyone in participating fully and equally in society. At Cúram, we use accessibility as a way to measure success, ensuring we stay accountable and create solutions that truly work for everyone.
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