{"id":12374,"date":"2025-08-15T08:00:32","date_gmt":"2025-08-15T07:00:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.uxdesigninstitute.com\/blog\/?p=12374"},"modified":"2025-08-15T10:03:53","modified_gmt":"2025-08-15T09:03:53","slug":"building-accessible-design-systems","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.uxdesigninstitute.com\/blog\/building-accessible-design-systems\/","title":{"rendered":"Accessible design systems: why they matter and how to build one"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

What is an accessible design system?<\/strong><\/h2>\n

A design system is a collection of reusable components, guidelines, and standards that teams follow to build consistent, cohesive products.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

It\u2019s a bit like a recipe book for a restaurant, ensuring every chef uses the same ingredients and follows the same steps to create signature dishes. That way, diners in the restaurant get the same great taste every time, no matter who\u2019s cooking.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Similarly, a design system contains all the building blocks needed to create websites and apps: things like buttons, icons, <\/span>typography<\/span><\/a>, colour palettes, and interaction patterns.<\/span><\/p>\n

That\u2019s design systems. So what about <\/strong><\/span>accessible <\/i>design systems?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Now let\u2019s imagine you want to bake a high-protein cake. You could follow a standard cake recipe and then try to add the protein afterwards\u2026or you could follow a recipe that already includes protein-rich ingredients.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The second approach is much more reliable and straightforward (and it\u2019ll save you time).\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The same goes for accessibility. It\u2019s much more effective to bake accessibility into your designs from the very beginning than it is to try and bolt it on later.<\/span><\/p>\n

And that\u2019s exactly what an accessible design system does. It\u2019s just a normal design system, but with accessibility practices baked in. Every component is designed to be accessible by default, and that ultimately results in more consistently accessible products.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Rather than \u2018cooking from scratch\u2019 every time, you\u2019re referring back to your trusted recipe and stock of ingredients, ones that you know are inherently accessible and inclusive.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Read also: <\/span><\/i>What is a design system and why is it useful?<\/span><\/i><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n
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[GET CERTIFIED IN ACCESSIBLE DESIGN]<\/p>\n Take our Professional Certificate in Designing for Accessibility<\/span>\n <\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n<\/section>\n<\/code><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

Why accessible design systems matter<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Accessible design systems matter because <\/span>accessibility <\/span><\/i>matters.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The <\/span>World Health Organization<\/span><\/a> estimates that 1 in 6 people worldwide live with a disability. Yet, in their analysis of the top 1 million website homepages, <\/span>WebAIM<\/span><\/a> found that over 94% had accessibility issues.<\/span><\/p>\n

The digital realm is nowhere near where it needs to be in terms of providing inclusive, user-friendly experiences to all and designers have a critical role to play in changing that.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Designers and product teams must prioritise accessibility in order to:<\/strong><\/p>\n