Sonja Hodgson

🌐 Are you curious about Single Page Applications (SPAs) and how they impact user experience and accessibility? 🌐 Join Dorlyn Catron and I for an upcoming session with the Web Accessibility Study Group where we’ll dive into the world of SPAs with special guest and accessibility engineer 🦞 Todd Libby! We’ll discuss what makes SPAs unique, how they work under the hood, and explore strategies for making them accessible to everyone. 🗓 When: Thursday, November 7th ⏰ Time: 4pm EST 📍 Where: Twitch Why should you care about SPAs? SPAs offer fast, app-like experiences on the web, but they also come with unique challenges, especially when it comes to accessibility. Whether you're a developer, designer, or just passionate about inclusive web experiences, this session will provide valuable insights and practical tips. 👩‍💻 We'll cover topics like: What are Single Page Applications? Popular SPA frameworks (React, Angular, Vue) Common accessibility pitfalls in SPAs How to make SPAs usable for all, including screen reader users Hope to see you there. ✨ #WebAccessibility #SinglePageApplications #InclusiveDesign #SPAs #WebDevelopment #Accessibility #LearnWithFriends #a11y

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Forms of one type or another are a major channel that people use to communicate with their government, service providers, suppliers, legal system. They are notoriously also a major impediment for people, preventing them getting what they need. As if by design intent. So, a big step in the right direction by the White House. But usability testing only has value, validity and reliability when it’s done by experienced user researchers. Poorly done usability testing is worse than no testing. Good user researcher working in partnership with good content design = win-win. An opportunity to raise the bar? #ux #usability #userresearch #ucd #ur #usertesting #formfilling #userexperience #contentdesign

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Header: Struggling to get accessibility right within your digital services? Its what we do! Sub header. Digital Accessibility Audits Lived Experience User Testing File Accessibility Web Accessibility Getting compliant (EAA2025 , Section 503) Footer, Free 30 Minute Consultations Book now https://lnkd.in/eeaVB4Uj

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A helpful #PowerPoint #Accessibility 📋 checklist from Dax Castro, ADS. ⤵ https://lnkd.in/enmTr6Aw

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Are you unknowingly designing with bias? Time to find out! Lauren Schaefer will teach you how to recognize and leverage cognitive biases in your design process. Join us for this eye-opening session! Register FREE: https://lnkd.in/gNFD9zEq #UX #UXRS #UserExperience

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Bridging Accessibility and Innovation: Lessons from UX Research During my time at the Accessibility User Research Collective (AURC), I learned that bridging accessibility and innovation wasn’t just about identifying barriers—it was about reimagining what was possible. Drawing from my background as a speech-language pathologist, I relied heavily on my clinical expertise to guide the research process. My training taught me to listen deeply, observe subtle nonverbal cues, and adapt to individual communication styles—skills that translated seamlessly into working with participants with disabilities. As a UX researcher, my role was to turn the lived experiences of people with disabilities into actionable insights that could reshape how products and services were designed. We didn’t create new products from scratch. Instead, we worked with companies across various industries, using our database of participants with disabilities to run studies that unearthed user pain points. These studies weren’t just about compliance with accessibility standards—they were about discovering opportunities for innovation. By merging quantitative data with a human-centered understanding of accessibility, we bridged the gap between innovative technology and real-world user experiences. In each project, I found that my ability to translate clinical methodologies into actionable UX strategies was essential. By drawing on my clinical experiences, I could navigate complex participant needs, helping companies see accessibility not just as a checklist, but as a powerful tool to empower users. As I move forward in my career, I’m committed to continuing this work: ensuring that innovation serves everyone, especially those who are often left behind. Whether consulting on new technologies or building more inclusive experiences, I believe that accessibility and innovation aren’t just compatible—they’re essential partners. Next up: I’ll dive into how research insights can lead to better product design and what happens when companies genuinely prioritize inclusive user experiences. Stay tuned! #AccessibilityMatters #InclusiveDesign #UXResearch #Innovation #AccessibilityInTech #HumanCenteredDesign #AssistiveTechnology #ProductDesign #InclusiveUX #DisabilityAdvocacy

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Conducting Accessibility Research In An Inaccessible Ecosystem https://lnkd.in/eyPf_EAm

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If you really want to understand PDF accessibility in depth, then don't miss this glossary. A group of dedicated international experts (The PDF Accessibility LWG hosted by the PDF Association) has compiled this glossary. Does it help you to better understand accessible PDFs? Which terms are you missing? #PDFUA #AccessiblePDF

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When it comes to accessibility testing, first people learn keyboard testing. After that, they switch to screen readers, and usually make this mistake. https://lnkd.in/eTmwPb9F #Accessibility #ScreenReaderMistakes

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Is it just me World Usability Congress or should your website adhere to at least WCAG 1.0 standards? Text as an image over video, days with no month or dates, white text on teal, no ability to tab through content, hover drop-down menus... woud be great to see this brought up to a level its intended to represent. https://lnkd.in/gwU5mGim #usabilitystandards #accessibility #customerexperience #designstandards #ux #cx #uxaudit

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Design education gives you solid baseline skills, but the reality is this: The best and most articulate explanation of an effective design concept wins. The users don't know your background, your education, or anything else. All they know is the solution you designed and how it solves their problem. That alone is magical, and a meritocracy.

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Non-compliance with ADA and EAA standards can lead to legal issues and reduced user engagement. Qualibooth.com helps businesses address these challenges with expert audits and practical solutions. You can also get a free scan to see how your website's accessibility compliance rates at https://lnkd.in/gjfC_NBe #ADACompliance #EAACompliance #WebAccessibility #Qualibooth

Today I’m sharing some resources for how to get started with accessibility at your company! Every company benefits from incorporating accessibility into their processes. Even if someone has said that your company doesn’t have any disabled customers. But most companies don’t have a formal accessibility team. Sometimes there are accessibility champions. And sometimes there's one person who tries to bring up accessibility in meetings. And lots of times people talk about how they should do more about accessibility, but nothing ends up happening. If you’ve been meaning to figure out how to make your process more inclusive then that’s great! It's way easier to start doing accessibility on your own terms before someone in the legal field tells you that you have to! Here are some resources to help you add accessibility into the way you and your company work: - Accessibility Beyond Compliance Playbook from Ad Hoc LLC (page and checklists) - https://lnkd.in/e2iNax86 - The Accessible Organisation: The success and challenges of creating a culture of accessibility from Nomensa (1 hour long video) - https://lnkd.in/ezT63zEs - Creating a culture of accessibility in your organization from Accessibility.com (article) - https://lnkd.in/es7w-V-m - A Guide to Creating a Successful Digital Accessibility Program from TPGi (article) - https://lnkd.in/ecqfxwXU - How To Create A Culture Of Digital Accessibility from UsableNet (55 minute video) - https://lnkd.in/eU-Xi3T5 - How to Start Building an Accessibility Strategy From Scratch from 3Play Media (article) -  https://lnkd.in/eVjcGQRu - Start with Accessibility from W3C (article) -  https://lnkd.in/eGJ39EmF If you've got good resources feel free to share them in the comments! #Accessibility #A11y #AccessibilityMatters #UserExperience

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What inspired my redesign of my local library's self-checkout system? I visit my library a LOT. It's basically like a second home to me! I could easily tell you what call number the comics are listed under or what Queer-friendly authors just released a new YA romcom. I've also observed library patrons using the self-checkout over the course of literal years, as well as using it myself. And through months and months of observation, I noticed several common things people of all ages and demographics were saying: 1. "Which barcode do I scan?" (scanning books to check out) 2. "Why does it say I'm an 'Invalid Patron' when I scan my card?" 3. "It says I'm an 'Invalid Patron' after I enter my PIN. But I have my card right here!" 4. "It timed out already? Do I have to start over?" 5. "Where do I go to renew my books?" These questions, among others, made me realize the current self-checkout system had a plethora of issues when it came to the user experience and overall design. Issues such as button placement, text sizing, confusing language, and a counterintuitive user flow could all be avoided with a few simple tweaks! 🛠 So I wrote down a bullet list of the biggest issues I could solve in a redesign, and over the next week I got to work researching the system's target demographics and what their needs and expectations were. I sketched a new user flow that solved the main issues I'd found, then brought my ideas to life in a high-fidelity Figma prototype. I updated the language of various prompts, made some of the buttons bigger and placed them in intuitive areas of the screens, and added a graphic to show which barcode to scan when checking out books. I even updated some of the UI and graphic design so it would be more consistent with my library's brand! 📚 Disclaimer: the only reason it took just a week is because, not only was the system simple, but I also worked OBSESSIVELY. My passion for this project in particular - due to my love of the library - caused me to lose several hours of sleep. I'll have to watch myself to keep that from becoming a habit in the future.😅 Anyway, I peddled my prototype around my library system and showed it off to friends and coworkers. They. All. LOVED IT. According to them, I hit the nail on the head when it came to the user pain points I'd identified and fixed. That was super validating to me as a UX designer! Things I learned from this? Sometimes a few simple tweaks are all you need to make an okay design become ✨stellar✨! And observation goes a looooong way in being inspired to iterate on current products and systems. This is one of my most inspired UX designs. I'm quite proud of it! 🥰 #uxdesign #designtips #userexperience #design #freelancer #opentowork #projects #passionproject #library #designsystem

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