Accessibility Nutrition Labels

Anyone else letting the A-E nutrition labels influence their grocery decisions? 

It's been a debate, I know, but for a minute back there I did give in to the tiny reassurance I got from choosing greener scored foods.

Apple has launched a similar concept, for accessibility. 

They're calling it Accessibility Nutrition Labels. 

I got deeper into it on March 8th (IWD) when I was trying to build an app of my own, thanks Lovable for making it happen.

These accessibility nutrition labels nudge app developers to think about various features like:

VoiceOver 

Voice Control 

Larger Text 

Captions 

Sufficient Contrast 

and more

And simultaneously provide the end user information about the experience they can expect, or even better, get into the habit of choosing more accessible apps.

That said, I do hope these labels become a mandatory feature rather than optional. Nutrition info on the back of every food item was voluntary once too. It took legislation to make it standard across every item, and that eventually fuelled awareness around dietary requirements. The same sort of enforcement may be needed for accessibility. (my earlier post on this topic: https://lnkd.in/eAkBRqVw) 

For anyone building an app or website right now, one practical tip: start by adding alt text to every image. Alt text is a short description of the image, kept invisible to us but read aloud by screen readers for people with visual aids. It takes only a few minutes, less with AI, immediately makes your content accessible, and... costs nothing. Make it the default, not the afterthought.

Embedding accessibility in business is an effective tool for enhanced loyalty. Apple is a great business case for this. They consider ‘accessibility as a human right’, and prioritize building for everybody, not a particular group. Accessibility can be integrated into any part of your business. Start with one thing and build from there. 

Wherever you are on the accessibility journey do connect, I'd love to hear what you're building.