Disability representation and digital accessibility have gained significant attention in recent years, driven by cultural shifts, changing attitudes, aging populations, and the growing influence of social media. But what does it mean to have a disability, and why should the digital production community take it seriously?

Defining Disability and Its Impact

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) defines a person with a disability as someone who has “a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities, a person who has a history or record of such an impairment, or a person who is perceived by others as having such an impairment.”

Disabilities are often categorized into the following types*:

• Visual – Blindness, low vision, or color blindness.
• Auditory – Deafness or hearing impairments.
• Speech – Difficulty with verbal communication.
• Physical – Limited mobility or dexterity.
• Cognitive & Learning – ADHD, dyslexia, or intellectual disabilities.
• Neurological – Epilepsy, migraines, or brain injuries.

According to a 2022 report by the World Health Organization (WHO), an estimated 1.3 billion people—16% of the global population, or 1 in 6—experience significant disability. Other estimates indicate that 25% of people will experience a disability at some point in their lifetime. In the U.S., 1 in 4 Americans reports living with a disability, according to the CDC.

That’s a vast portion of the population who currently or will eventually experience disability. As more and more of our lives are lived online or through digital interfaces, people will increasingly rely on accessible digital experiences to navigate daily life.

The Need for Digital Accessibility

The impact of disability goes well beyond an individual's life. Communities, governments, and private businesses are all impacted by and impact people experiencing disability

For individuals, digital accessibility is essential for equal participation in society, from accessing healthcare and education to applying for jobs and engaging with online services. As the internet matures and the global population ages, ensuring that digital experiences accommodate everyone is becoming more critical than ever.

For communities, accessibility benefits not only individuals with disabilities but also caregivers, families, and society as a whole. Digital accessibility strengthens social inclusion, economic participation, and equitable opportunities. When online spaces and digital tools are accessible, people with disabilities can engage more fully in civic life, access essential services, and contribute to the workforce.

For governments, accessibility is both a legal and ethical responsibility. In 2016 the UN identified internet access as a human right. Regulations like the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) in the U.S. and the European Accessibility Act (EAA) mandate inclusive digital experiences, pushing public and private sectors toward compliance. Noncompliance can result in lawsuits and regulatory action, as well as public scrutiny over exclusionary practices.

For businesses, accessibility is both a competitive advantage and a compliance necessity. Inaccessible digital experiences can alienate millions of potential customers, damage brand reputation, and result in costly retrofits. In fact, 56% of people with disabilities cited accessibility as the reason for choosing one online store over another, demonstrating that accessibility directly impacts customer loyalty and revenue. Considering that, globally, people with disabilities have $1.9 trillion in annual disposable income, creating accessible experiences should be a top priority.

A proactive approach to accessibility can help avoid costly lawsuits. According to Seyfarth Shaw LLP, a law firm specializing in ADA litigation, 3,255 ADA compliance lawsuits were filed in federal court in 2022—an increase of 12% from the previous year. Other sources estimate this number to be closer to 4,000 cases. These lawsuits come at a steep cost, averaging tens of thousands of dollars to millions. 

By prioritizing accessibility from the start, organizations not only avoid legal pitfalls but also create better, more inclusive experiences that serve a broader audience.

How Knapsack Empowers Accessible Digital Production

Building accessible digital experiences can be time-consuming, expensive, and complex. Many teams struggle with accessibility because they lack clear guidance, reusable components, or the expertise to implement best practices consistently. Knapsack’s design system and digital production capabilities provide a centralized, scalable solution, empowering teams to build accessibility into every stage of digital production.

A Central Source of Truth for Guidelines and Documentation

Accessibility is complex, often requiring input from designers, developers, and compliance teams. Without a single reference point, teams risk inconsistent implementation or overlooking critical details.

Knapsack solves this by providing a centralized source of truth for guidelines, documentation, and reusable assets that align teams around best practices. With accessibility documentation embedded directly into the design system, teams always have a clear reference for WCAG compliance, ARIA implementation, and other standards. This ensures that accessibility is not just an aspiration but a clearly defined and repeatable process.

A System of Record for Reusable Assets

One of the biggest challenges in accessibility is ensuring that every digital experience—across every product, page, and touchpoint—meets the same high standard. Knapsack enables organizations to create a system of record for approved reusable components that have been built with accessibility in mind, incorporating best practices for contrast ratios, focus states, semantic structure, and assistive technology support.This accessibility system of record helps:

Reduce accessibility risks – By using pre-tested, pre-approved components, teams can confidently design and develop without accidentally introducing inaccessible elements.

Embed best practices into UI patterns – Instead of relying on individual teams to manually address accessibility, organizations can create and enforce accessible-by-default design patterns.

This approach significantly reduces the need for reactive fixes and costly retrofitting, allowing organizations to scale accessibility effortlessly across products and teams.

Empowering Teams to Build Inclusively at Scale

A major barrier to baking accessibility into your organization’s culture and digital products is that not everyone is an accessibility expert—that would be an unrealistic expectation. Knapsack empowers team members of all skill levels to build inclusively without requiring deep accessibility knowledge.

• Knapsack’s documentation features allow accessibility experts to contribute and refine standards, ensuring continuous improvement.
• A centralized workspace helps ensure standards and updates are socialized across the entire organization.
• Working with prebuilt, accessible components ensures that even non-experts can create compliant experiences.
• Built-in accessibility checks and guidance make it easy for teams to follow best practices.

By integrating accessibility considerations into the early stages of design and development—organizations eliminate the risk of discovering issues too late in the process. Instead, accessibility becomes a natural part of the culture and workflow, not an afterthought.

Preventing Accessibility Issues Before They Happen

Many accessibility issues arise after launch, forcing teams to scramble for fixes. Knapsack changes this by integrating accessibility testing directly into the design system, making QA proactive rather than reactive.

• Clear documentation helps QA teams efficiently verify accessibility across digital products.
• A unified system of record makes accessibility improvements easy to track and implement.
• Composition and prototyping features allow teams to test UIs early and often with third-party tools such as this Chrome extension.

This prevention-first approach drastically reduces the time and cost associated with fixing accessibility issues after a product goes live and reduces the risk of running into expensive compliance lawsuits

Creating Accessible Digital Experiences is the Right Thing To Do

By integrating accessibility into design and development from day one, Knapsack helps organizations save time and costs, reduce compliance risk, improve customer experiences and retention, and drive innovation. All are very good, compelling business reasons to take a proactive approach to creating a design system that bakes accessibility into the foundations of your digital ecosystem.

Beyond the business rationale, building accessible experiences empowers people who are often disenfranchised. Accessible digital experiences allow people with disabilities to live fuller, more independent lives, reduce the burden of care giving on individuals and communities, and empower everyone to contribute fully.

Knapsack is committed to helping organizations deliver more accessible products and experiences both through our digital production operations platform and through community education. 

On March 26th, we are hosting a panel discussion with leading accessibility experts to talk about how organizations can create design systems that include accessibility in the foundations of digital products and experiences. Register to attend the live session or receive the recording. 

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_{*This is not meant to be a comprehensive list.}

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