Building an “accessibility brand”

Meaningful accessibility discussions happen when you are not in the room. Having a personal accessibility brand can help deliver your message in your absence.

Authors note: Because of Medium’s refusal to address its accessibility issues for both authors and readers, I’ve moved my last three years of blogs to Substack. Please sign up there for notices of all new articles. Also, I will be updating older articles (like this one) and the updates will only be published on Substack. Thank you for your continued readership and support.

Branding isn’t just for companies anymore. Post-pandemic, in our almost-completely digital world, a personal brand is no longer an extra; it’s necessary for success. Nowhere is this more true than accessibility, an area of tech that cuts across every part of the software development lifecycle.

Like a corporate brand, a personal brand expresses:

• who you are
• what you stand for
• the values you embrace, and;
• how you express those values.

If your personal accessibility brand is strong enough, people will repeat your accessibility values and stand up on your behalf when you are not part…