Web accessibility is the new challenge for designers and developers. Making the web accessible to everyone means allowing each individual, regardless of age, background, or abilities, to access it without difficulty. Today, this is the challenge that Figma has taken on by working on the accessibility of designs. The idea here is to enable anyone to participate in all stages of the design and implementation process.
Integration of a new screen reader for prototypes
The prototyping phase is when a user can visualize the project, interact with the elements, and see it in the most realistic way possible. Until now, Figma prototypes were only viewable by the naked eye. No part of the mockup was readable by screen readers. This meant that Figma prototypes were not accessible to visually impaired individuals. Whether it was text, images, or icons, no element was visible to a visually impaired user.
To address this issue and improve the accessibility of prototypes, Figma is launching a new screen reader feature. This feature will allow, for example, to:
- Read images
- Read text
- Navigate through the prototype
Still in Beta version, this screen reader has been a real challenge for Figma, as its designs are not constructed in HTML. This has been a significant barrier that made the mockups unreadable by most screen readers. Figma now enables the conversion of prototypes into an HTML presentation.
Addition of a dark mode
More and more tools are integrating a “Dark mode” feature into their interface. Beyond personal taste, this feature also addresses accessibility concerns by altering color contrasts. An important element for many users who require a different visual representation in design.
How to enable dark mode on Figma?
Beta for live captions in audio chat
Available exclusively on the Figma application, this feature provides a live transcription of the team’s audio chats.
Evaluation of platform accessibility
Figma has enlisted the services of Deque, experts in digital accessibility, to evaluate the entire platform and identify areas for improvement, such as the use of ARIA labels.
Growth of accessibility-related plugins
Figma is seeing an increasing number of plugins designed to enhance accessibility during the design process.
Growth of accessibility-related files
The community is becoming more active on this topic, with numerous files shared on accessibility available on Figma Community. These files cover a variety of topics, from learning how to create accessible designs to managing colors and the main rules of web accessibility, etc.
Other upcoming accessibility challenges
Figma is at the heart of the web accessibility challenge, and while these features are a step forward, the challenge remains significant. The tool intends to continue working in this direction to further improve user accessibility in the future, for example, by enabling the addition of ARIA Labels or Alt tags on components and graphical elements.
This is just the beginning!
