How can publishers make better, more accessible publications? There’s a lot holding them back from making accessible commercial publications, and the problem isn’t that they don’t want to; it’s that they can’t do it.
The solution is multi-pronged and involves everyone from AT manufacturers and AT users, to software manufacturers and WCAG, too.
Abstract
From the viewpoint of a designer, managing editor, publisher, and publishing consultant, the speaker shows why publishers are not creating accessible documents.
Sometimes publishing and design software lacks the tools to create accessible PDFs and other digital media without extensive hand coding.
WCAG itself, originally developed for webpages, often conflicts with traditional publishing design and editorial conventions in use for 150 years.
And the accessibility industry hasn’t yet defined a complete set of standards for publications. PDF/UA is a first step, but more is needed.
All these stakeholders must solve the problem…together
The presentation includes:
Demos of design and editorial techniques that can make publications more accessible;
Recommendations of how assistive technologies can improve the user experience in publications and other non-HTML media;
Ideas for better software tools that can make it more feasible for publishers to create accessible publications.
Keypoints
A magazine or book isn’t anything like a website—how WCAG can be tweaked to also accommodate publications
Alt-Text isn’t sufficient for STEM publications—other techniques are demo’ed for rich information
How not to force a square peg into a round hole—work with the publishing industry if you want accessibility.
Speaker Bio(s)
Bevi Chagnon
Bevi Chagnon has been active in the standards community for 25 years, and currently is a US Delegate to the ISO committees for PDF and PDF/UA. With a long career in publishing, she’s an expert for Adobe InDesign, Acrobat, MS Office, and accessibility. She’s a professional educator, award-winning designer, and former faculty member at Washington DC-area colleges/universities. Bevi is a frequent speaker at industry conferences, and a contributor on many forums, including the Adobe Community Forums where she is an invited Community Expert.
