Title III of the ADA prohibits discrimination based on disability

The ADA was originally built to create compliance for the physical world — buildings, sidewalks, and restrooms. However, with the growth of web-based retailing, the ADA is now being expanded to include accessibility to websites and the digital world. Just as a physical building can be difficult to navigate for a disabled person, a website can have barriers too.

Today many marketing content creators fail to consider the blind and deaf, or simply those that cannot use a mouse to navigate their websites.  Today many disabled persons use “assistive technology,” such as screen readers or voice recognition software and designers should be mindful of how those tools will interpret their site.

Depending on your business, you may be affected by this changing legislation.

How do I comply with ADA standards?

Simple adjustments in your content can make it more accessible for the disabled.  The ADA requirements for websites are currently evolving as the law has not been firmly established.

While the government is finalizing rules to make and enforce accessibility in websites, the ADA encourages the use of the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.0 (WCAG) as a guide on how to make your site accessible.

WCAG 2.0 was published in December, 2008 and became an official international standard for website accessibility in 2012. These guidelines were first established in 1999 through the work of Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI) and the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C).

WCAG is organized as 12 guidelines under 4 principles (POUR):

Perceivable: Web content is made available to the senses – sight, hearing, and/or touch

Operable: Interface forms, controls, and navigation are operable

Understandable: Content and interface are understandable

Robust: Site should work in all environments

Below are some tips to help ensure you are ADA compliant

1) Add text to your images

An image can say 1000 words, but what happens when you can’t see the image?  A blind person will often use a screen reader when browsing the web.  Without text being added to your image, their screen reader would not be able to identify the image.  They would have no way of knowing if the image contains your logo, link to another page or if it was simply a stock photo.

As Example – your website may contain an image of your new location.  A blind person should be able to use their screen reader to go over the image and hear “photo of new branch located at XXX”

2) Modify PDF’s to become reader friendly

Image based formats such as PDF’s can be challenging to the visually impaired.  Make sure your PDFs are screen reader friendly, the images are tagged and ordered correctly.

3) Use color appropriately

Do not use color as the only means of conveying visual information, distinguishing visual components, indicating actions or prompting for a response.

4) Using video may require additional audio descriptions

If video is used in any of your marketing / online material, be sure to include audio descriptions of what is being displayed.  Make sure the user has the ability to pause the video, control content in the case of blinking or scrolling information and turn on or off captions.

5) Provide alternate means of communication

Be sure to have a procedure in place to respond quickly to a website visitor with disabilities who is having trouble accessing your site.  This could be a phone number to call, email address or text box allowing someone to request accessible service or information.

The checklist is not meant to be comprehensive but rather a guide of best practices.

You should always contact your compliance resource manager, or legal counsel if you have questions regarding ADA compliance.

Looking for help creating ADA compliant marketing material? Westamerica Communications can help, contact us today!

Westamerica delivers comprehensive merchandising support

Long-time client, Eagle Credit Union, was looking to open a new branch and wanted Westamerica to help with their signage and in branch experience.  Working with our Wide Format Merchandising and Signage experts, Eagle was able to build an innovative, exciting and effective solution for their new small footprint format.  This was a new building for Eagle, so the team was able to start with a blank canvas and develop a comprehensive solution.

Our program support consisted of the following:

• Outdoor Lighted Building Signage (for the Branch)
• Indoor Wall Signage
• Timeline display sharing the key milestones of the credit untion’s history
• Office Faux Frost Etchings
• Mailbox Wrap
• Custom Clock Face
• Testing for fit and placement before final install
• Final install

Westamerica provides the following merchandising and display graphic options:

• Window Graphics
• Environmental Signage
• Office Signage
• Vehicle Wraps
• Retail Solutions
• 3D Structural Display Design
• Trade Show Solutions
• And More!

 

 

Contact us today to learn more!

Meet Suzanne “Q” Aloi, Westamerica’s Senior Art Director

When we create beautiful print collateral, packaging and websites it takes a group of highly trained and extremely talented individuals to get the job done. There are technicians that prep, print or write the code for these projects and there are creatives that imagine and design the project. To make these projects come together many times it takes a technician who is creative and a designer who has strong technical skills.

For the past 18 years, We have had the pleasure of working with a creative individual who has imagined and designed some of our most iconic work. We’d like to introduce you to Suzanne Aloi, the Senior Art Director here at Westamerica Communications. Everyone around our facility calls her “Q.”

We recently sat down and spoke with Q to learn a little more about her life and her work here at Westamerica.

When did you become interested in graphic design?

My mother was an artist so I grew up doing a lot of creative things especially drawing. In junior high, I was lucky enough to have access to art and design classes, one of them was Yearbook. That’s when I realized how much I enjoyed the design process and that it could be my career. I was provided opportunities to apply my skills in a commercial capacity early on and I designed my first professional logo when I was 13. I enjoyed the challenge of creating an illustration or trademark that is so simple, yet communicates quickly as an icon.

Which designers do you like and which have influenced your work?

Paul Rand tops my list. As Louis Danziger, one of my favorite instructors at Art Center, once said of him “He almost singlehandedly convinced business that design was an effective tool.” He was a visionary who transformed advertising and pioneered a fresh, modern approach to selling products. I really admire his corporate identity work, but he did everything. He demonstrated so well the simple idea that graphic design can, and should, be both beautiful and functional.

Did you go to school to train or was most of your training on the job?

Both. I was a self-motivated kid so in high school I had an independent study program. By then I was fairly busy freelancing with logos, portraits and various illustration projects. I was able to work on those at school and get class credits at the same time. Endless doodling in class lead one teacher to introduce me to Art Center College of Design in Pasadena and that’s where I earned my Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Packaging & Communication Design. It’s been a lot of years since I graduated and I have been fortunate to work with some amazingly talented people on all kinds of creative challenges. I learn from every person and every project so I consider on the job training an ongoing endeavor. I love to learn so I continue to take courses to keep my skills current.

What are three of your favorite projects at Westamerica Communications and why?

I’m happy to say there is a long list to choose from after all these years.

#1 The Contra Costa Water District

We created a series of informational wall graphics for the newly built John Muir Interpretive Center at Los Vaqueros Reservoir. Each focused on various aspects of the wildlife, history, ecosystem, and conservation of the watershed. Nature and history are a passion of mine so I love working on projects that teach me something in the design process.

As part of the fifth-grade science curriculum, students learn about the water system and canal safety. I was challenged to illustrate a fun, cartoonish map showing cities, roads, canals, trails, pump stations, and reservoirs as well as a long list of notable places, activities, and animals. It took several months to complete. I like that these projects utilized my illustration and design skills and they’re visually fun to look at. But more importantly, they’re serving a purpose as valuable educational tools for generations to come.

#2 Mellanox Technologies Inc., International Sales Incentive Program

With prizes like a new Range Rover, an all-inclusive safari, and other attractive prizes, the marketing of this specific program played on the allure of travel and adventure.

We created an early 20th-century vintage suitcase, complete with a magnetic clasp and a plastic handle. The case contained expansive creative content, including a passport, brochure, and campaign letter sent to all participants. To keep the program exciting, each month participants received a collection of “travel style” stickers featuring prizes and features to place on their suitcase. These monthly letters with stickers served to update the sales team and keep everyone focused and motivated.

This project was a great example of our full-service expertise. Our team was able to single-handedly provide structural and digital design, email and web creative content, along with print, all supporting one central campaign.

#3 Almost everything I have done for Shimano Fishing

I love fishing and the outdoors, so working on their brochures, catalogs, packaging design, logo designs, trade show graphics… a wide variety of projects, all were just a bit more fun and interesting because I love the subject matter and enjoy the high-quality products myself!

Thank you Q, Westamerica wouldn’t be the same without you!