Design for the Edges: Why Accessibility Is Just Good Marketing

Human-centered design starts with people. All of them. When you design for the people at the edges, like someone who can’t see the screen, can’t hear the video, or can’t grip the handle, you almost always build something better for everyone else too.

People-Centered Includes Abilities

In human-centered design, we start with empathy. We go find the people we are designing for and learn how their day really works. Too often, that picture quietly leaves out people with disabilities.

That is a big miss. The CDC reports that more than 1 in 4 U.S. adults has some type of disability. The most common are cognition and mobility, followed by hearing and vision.

Microsoft’s Inclusive Design team gives us a helpful way to think about it. Disability is a mismatch between a person and the thing they are trying to use. Change the design and the mismatch can go away. Their persona spectrum shows that the same need can be permanent, temporary, or situational.

Design for the Extremes

Here is the principle I want you to remember. When you design for the people at the extremes, the middle usually takes care of itself. Microsoft calls it solve for one, extend to many. In HCD we look for extreme users on purpose, because their needs are clearer and their workarounds show us what a better design could be.

The classic example is the curb cut. In the early 1970s, disability activists in Berkeley, California poured their own concrete ramps at street corners, and in 1972 the city installed its first official curb cut. Then everyone started using them: parents with strollers, travelers with rolling bags, delivery workers with carts, kids on bikes. Angela Glover Blackwell named this the curb-cut effect. A change made for one group ends up helping all of us.

Design for the edges and the middle usually takes care of itself.

Real Brands That Designed for the Edges

These are not charity projects. Each one started with a specific person’s need and became a better product or a stronger brand story.

What Happens When Brands Skip It

Skipping accessibility costs sales, trust, and sometimes a lot of money. Inaccessible sites are still the norm. The 2026 WebAIM Million report found detectable WCAG failures on 95.9% of the top one million home pages. The most common problem was low-contrast text, followed by images with no alt text.

1. Target, 2008. The National Federation of the Blind sued because blind shoppers couldn’t use Target.com with screen readers. Target settled and paid $6 million in damages.
2. Domino’s, 2019. A blind customer couldn’t order a pizza on the website or app. A federal appeals court said the ADA applied. The Supreme Court declined to hear Domino’s appeal, and the case settled in 2022.
3. Public universities, now. Under the Department of Justice’s ADA Title II rule, public colleges like UT must meet WCAG 2.1 AA on their websites and digital content. The deadline for large public entities moved to April 26, 2027. That is why your course materials are getting accessible makeovers.
4. Selling in Europe. The European Accessibility Act took effect June 28, 2025. It covers many businesses that sell to EU consumers online, including U.S. brands.

If it works for the person at the edge, it usually works better for everyone.

Jules Morris

Your Accessibility Checklist as a Marketer

You do not need to be a developer to get this right. Most of it is in the hands of the person writing, designing, and posting. Make these habits:

1. Write real alt text. Say what the image shows and why it matters, in a sentence. Skip “image of.” Instagram, LinkedIn, and most email tools have an alt text field. Use it.
2. Caption every video. Burn in captions for short-form social, and check auto-captions for errors, especially brand names.
3. Check your contrast. Light gray text on white is the most common failure on the web. Test your brand colors with the WebAIM Contrast Checker.
4. Don’t use color alone. “Click the green button” fails for people who are colorblind. Add a label, an icon, or an underline.
5. Write links that make sense alone. “Download the spring menu” beats “click here.”
6. Use real headings. Structure pages and emails with true H1, H2, and H3 headings so screen reader users can scan like everyone else.
7. Write hashtags in CamelCase. #SmallBusinessSaturday is easier for screen readers and for everyone else.
8. Keep it plain. Short sentences and clear words help people with cognitive disabilities, second-language readers, and busy people on their phones.

Inclusive Is Bigger Than Access

Accessibility makes sure people can use what you make. Inclusion makes sure they can see themselves in it. Both are part of people-centered marketing.

Look at the people in your photos and video. Do they show a range of ages, body types, skin tones, and abilities? Is a person using a wheelchair or a hearing aid just part of the scene, or only shown when the topic is disability? The best inclusive work treats people with disabilities as customers, not as a cause.

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