Perceive This
"A website uses red and green dots to show whether a product is in stock or out of stock. No text label is included. What POUR principle does this violate and why?"
Answer: Perceivable.
"A button on a checkout page just says 'Click here.' What's the problem and which principle does it violate?"
Answer: Perceivable and Understandable.
"An image of a company logo appears on every page of a website. The alt text currently reads: 'logo.png'. What should it say?"
Answer: alt="[Company Name] logo"
"True or False: Accessibility only matters for permanent disabilities — people who are born blind or deaf."
Answer: False.
"Name one mainstream product or feature that was originally designed for accessibility but is now used by the majority of users without disabilities."
Answer: closed captions (designed for deaf users, now used by millions in noisy environments or when learning a language); voice assistants / Siri / Google Assistant (designed for motor and visual impairments, now mainstream); keyboard shortcuts (designed for motor impairment, used by power users everywhere); audiobooks (designed for blind users, mainstream commute listening); automatic doors (designed for wheelchair users, used by everyone carrying groceries).
"A news website autoplays a video with sound when you land on the page. A screen reader user is navigating with audio. What happens, and what principle is violated?"
Answer: Perceivable (and Operable).
"A form has five input fields. None of them have visible text labels — only placeholder text inside the field that disappears when you start typing. Name two separate problems this causes."
Answer: (1) When a user clicks into the field, the placeholder disappears — they can no longer see what information is required, creating cognitive burden especially for users with memory or attention difficulties. (2) Many screen readers do not reliably announce placeholder text as a label — the field may be announced with no description at all.
"A video on a product page has subtitles, but they're auto-generated and full of errors — 'their' instead of 'there', names misspelled, technical terms garbled. Is this accessible? What's the fix?"
Answer: Not sufficiently accessible. Auto-generated captions are a starting point, not a solution.
"True or False: If a website passes an automated accessibility audit (like Google Lighthouse), it is accessible."
Answer: False. Automated tools can catch approximately 30–40% of accessibility issues — things like missing alt text, insufficient contrast ratios, and absent form labels.
"In the EU, the European Accessibility Act comes into force in June 2025. What does this mean for companies selling digital products in Europe?"
Answer: Digital products and services — including e-commerce, banking apps, e-readers, ticketing services, and consumer technology — must meet accessibility standards or face regulatory penalties. This applies to companies based outside the EU if they sell to European customers.
"A designer uses a font size of 10px for footnote text on a white background in a light gray color (#AAAAAA). Two problems here — name both and which principle each violates."
Answer: Both violate Perceivable.
"A developer builds a pop-up that appears when a user clicks a button. When the pop-up opens, keyboard focus stays on the button behind it. What are the consequences for a keyboard-only user?"
Answer: Violates Operable. The user cannot reach the modal content using the keyboard
"A website has a 'Skip to main content' link — but it's only visible when focused via keyboard. A sighted keyboard user can see it when they tab to it. Is this acceptable under WCAG, and is there anything worth critiquing?"
Answer: Yes — this is an accepted and common pattern. WCAG 2.4.1 requires a mechanism to skip repeated navigation, and a visually hidden link that becomes visible on focus satisfies this.
"True or False: Adding accessibility features to a product always makes it look less visually appealing."
Answer: False. Many accessible design decisions improve visual clarity for all users
"Figma is the dominant tool in UI/UX design. It has no built-in accessibility checker. What does this tell us about the relationship between tool design and accessibility outcomes at scale?"
Answer: It demonstrates that accessibility defaults at the tool level have outsized impact.