BWB is Leveling Up: Accessibility and Design
Red and white drawing of a match with a flame, and the BWB logo
in white with red dots; placed on a black background
Oh, hello! Happy almost August to all of you.
This month, we've been having a lot of conversations about how our businesses can go beyond compliance to truly center accessibility in design. This is an evolving area of growth where there is continual room for learning and improvement as new understandings and technologies emerge.
We believe accessibility is our responsibility as creators, and a mandate in business. When we center accessibility in communications, design, and marketing efforts we:
expand our reach
improve our SEO
drive more traffic
open our content to 15% more of the population
reaffirm our brand's commitment to inclusivity
BWB has always provided different ways to visualize, digest, and understand information for different learning styles, and have recently taken a few new steps to level up.
Here are a few ways we're bringing accessibility to the forefront:
Working with Maren Gauldin to further unpack our own styles and how that impacts how our styles intersect with others through her work as an Enneagram coach. Listen to our most recent Questions to Hold podcast episode to learn more.
Collaborating with Laura Matteson from Illustrative as a design partner to bring service design and visual support and translation into our work.
Implementing SEO best practices into projects through updating website copy, website organization, and overall strategy (think things like backlinks through media articles; our client Right at Home of Essex County's Medium article example below!)
Implementing a multi-media approach to content creation to meet people with new ways to showcase information, audio and video, transcripts, and other visual support
We're also excited to share that we have a new partnership with accessiBe to take our website accessibility up a notch. Check out the BWB website widget (the blue and white icon at the bottom right).
blue icon with with a white person and an overlapping white circle with a blue checkmark
This interface is a session-based design and UI adjustment tool that makes accessibility modifications based on a user's individual needs such as language preference, sizing and vision impairment. There are also profiles to make the site more friendly for ADHD users, blind users, and more.
How are you considering different types of learners and communications styles in your business? We are really curious to know! AND: If you have a website, we are offering a free compliance report from accessiBe so you can check it out. Drop us a line!
Lastly, are you, or do you know, a designer that also cares about these values and principles, and is interested in joining our BWB Creative Collective?! Check out the details here.
Lots of love,
C&C
"Client Love" with "Client" in Black capital letters and "Love" in capital red letters
Podcast cover; Green textured background with red and yellow root system at the center.Title is "Original Belonging" by Maura Conlon, Ph.D. with the tagline of "through-threads of life's first 14 years"
We are proud to announce that Maura Conlon's new podcast, Original Belonging, is live! BWB had the pleasure of working with Maura over the past few months, learning about her amazing work:
"In this series, I explore how the significant influences and archetypal events experienced in our first 14 years of life set the stage for what is most meaningful throughout our adult years. In times of transition, a voice wonders: who am I at the soul level, at my essence? Our earliest resonant moments of awe–what lit us up–offer direct access into the root system of our original belonging."
A screenshot from Maura Conlon's website with a black and white photo of Maura smiling on the right. On the left, white text reading "Original Belonging" and yellow text below reading "through-threads of life's first 14 years." Below, off-white text reading "An artfully-produced, narrative podcast series with author and host, Maura Conlin PhD." Two logos of Spotify and Apple podcasts below with the text "Listen wherever you find your favorite shows."
Right at Home of Essex County's 20 Years in Business celebration logo (large 20 with banner weaving through are shades of orange, and text is in blue). The company was established in 2004.
As part of Authority Magazine's series about 5 Things You Need To Run A Highly Successful Family Business, our client Maeghan Scott was interviewed. Maeghan is the the Owner and Operator of Right at Home of Essex County, an in-home care service provider for seniors and adults in Essex County, New Jersey.
"We are a family business, in the business of caring for families. We believe aging isn’t just about staying healthy, safe, and independent; it’s also about living well. Our goal is to help our neighbors stay in a place where they’re comfortable for as long as possible."
Maeghan Scott of Right at Home of Essex County on 5 Things You Need To Run a Highly Successful Family Business (Authority Magazine Editorial Staff, Published in Authority Magazine, 13 minute read)
image of Maeghan Scott folding her arms in a pink shirt, smiling; standing in front of a photograph of her father, Moses Scott, hanging on the wall
Red capital letters that say "in your ears."
Podcast cover with a photo of Maren, smiling on the left wearing pink framed glasses and black and white stripes; top reads "Exploring The Enneagram with Maren Gauldin" and the bottom right has the "Questions to Hold podcast over which reads "The Podcast, Unpacking Partnership" and has the Apple Podcast logo and a purple sound wave.
The most recent interview on the Questions to Hold Podcast with Maren Gauldin focuses on all things Enneagram!
Join us for a conversation with Maren Gauldin (she/her), where we explore the Enneagram and how it can be used to understand ourselves, build relationships with others, develop deeper partnerships, and enhance team dynamics.
Maren Gauldin is an organizational development consultant, a certified Enneagram coach, a parent, a partner, an advocate, and a community-tender who envisions a world where all are able to discover and fulfill the depths of their potential. Maren leads Seeds to Wholeness, an organizational development consultancy dedicated to unlocking the potential of purpose-driven individuals and businesses. Maren offers Enneagram-based coaching for individuals, couples and teams, along with team-building workshops and organizational development consulting to small businesses and organizations. She is a devoted coach, a tenacious strategist and the co-founder of a non-profit that supports trans children.
accessiBe partner badge with blue checkmark logo
BWB has partnered with accessiBe, the market leader in web accessibility to streamline the process of making websites more accessible.
accessiBe has worked with over 200,000 websites ranging from small businesses to industry leaders, and supporting businesses, agencies, and non-profits in embracing inclusion and reaching a wider audience. accessiBe promotes accessibility in accordance with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines and with the Americans with Disabilities Act.
The best part is that the widget continually is updated based on industry best practices, standards, and guidelines, so you will remain compliant in that way.
