How to make an accessible document

As part of my “real” job, I’m a certified ADA coordinator, helping  folks make their documents more accessible. That means applying a few best practices that help any design communicate more effectively, but also optimizing a digital document so it’s accessible to folks who use assistive technologies, like screen reader software.

If you’d like me to help your team make their documents work better, invite me to a meeting, and in an hour or so I can give you a practical introduction to accessible design, just send me a message to start the conversation.

On May 5, 2025 I was a presenter at the 2025 National ADA Symposium: Virtual, presentation description and feedback below. 

4C) Accessible Design is Good Design: How to Make Any Document Work Better
"As a graphic designer I always focus on clarity: if you're trying to deliver information, you should do it efficiently and effectively, otherwise you might as well keep it to yourself. Happily, almost every best practice for accessibility coincides with a best practice for graphic design! In this presentation I focus on what can be done in authoring programs (like Word.) to generate PDFs that require very little remediation (in Acrobat) before they're considered accessible to users of assistive technologies like screen readers. Watch your PDF remediation needs plummet, by implementing a few best practices that result in well-authored PDFs."

Feedback from the
2025 National ADA Symposium: Virtual (May 5, 2025)
Session: 4C) Accessible Design is Good Design: How to Make Any Document Work Better

"...Your score of 4.71 (out of 5) made it one of the top-scoring sessions of the conference."
-ACTCP Director, Great Plains ADA Center

Participant Comments:

• “One of the top presentations of the day. The presenter provided humor with his extensive knowledge of the topic.”
• “The speaker was well-informed on the topic he was presenting on. I will use the information I learned in practice.”
• “It was a lot. Good but a lot. I will need to go back and review.”
• “Great content, helpful and specific examples, visual aids, and answers to questions. Also, the ASL interpreters at this session were fantastic.”
• “This was an awesome presentation! Good and bad examples are so helpful.”
• “The checklist is a wonderful addition. I've already shared it with our communications department. Thank you!”
• “Great.”