Accessibility Quick Guide for Ontario College of Family Physicians (OCFP)
Overview
I created an easy-to-scan digital accessibility cheat sheet to help colleagues and vendors adopt digital accessibility from the very beginning of the content creation process.
This idea arose from repeatedly observing the same barriers in audits and spending too much time retrofitting documents into alternate formats upon request.
My Role
Digital accessibility specialist, graphic designer.
Responsibilities
Information design, graphic design.
Overview
I created an easy-to-scan digital accessibility cheat sheet to help colleagues and vendors adopt digital accessibility from the very beginning of the content creation process.
This idea arose from repeatedly observing the same barriers in audits and spending too much time retrofitting documents into alternate formats upon request.
My Role
Digital accessibility specialist, graphic designer.
Responsibilities
Information design, graphic design.
Problem
I noticed throughout my career that many colleagues and vendors struggle to integrate digital accessibility into their workflow. The same barriers kept showing up in accessibility audits despite repeated coaching. Often because colleagues lacked foundational accessibility knowledge.
Since only the basics are needed for most content creation, ineffective habits persisted such as bolding headings instead of using proper styles in Word documents, creating long-term accessibility issues and extra work when alternative formats are requested.
Goal
Design a low-barrier training resource for colleagues and vendors that promotes the adoption of digital accessibility right from the beginning of the content creation process.
This resource will be easy to understand and will highlight the most common barriers to accessibility, along with practical strategies for avoiding them.
Tactics
I pitched the idea to my director, and she let me run with it. I:
- Created an at-a-glance accessibility guide designed like an organizational branding guideline for both familiarity and quick scanning and retention.
- Organized the guide around core production workflows:
- Word and PowerPoint
- Graphic design for print and social media
- Websites and intranets (CMS or manual HTML)
- Used real OCFP content examples familiar to the organization to make the guidance relevant.
- Included visual dos and don’ts, accessible colour combinations (with RGB/CMYK/HEX), and examples of accessible vs. inaccessible copy, links, tables, and images.
- Focused on the most common recurring barriers seen across years of audits and coaching.
- Added short links to third-party experts, Microsoft documentation, and WAI resources for deeper learning.
- Designed it as an official policy/process document, complete with a “last updated” date to signal it as a living resource.
I put everthing together in InDesign and exported as a two-page cheat sheet in PDF format to keep it simple, undaunting, shareable, and so staff and vendors could print and keep it at their desks for easy access and referencing.
Results
- The guide was reviewed by the team, refined, and published across the organization.
- Early feedback is promising: colleagues have already started changing their habits and applying the basics.
Impact
- As of this writing, it is still early to measure long-term impact, but signs of improvement are emerging. For example, one colleague shared with me, “I hear your voice in my head every time I work on a Word document,” suggesting the guide is reinforcing consistent behaviour change.
Tactics
I pitched the idea to my director, and she let me run with it. I:
- Created an at-a-glance accessibility guide designed like an organizational branding guideline for both familiarity and quick scanning and retention.
- Organized the guide around core production workflows:
- Word and PowerPoint
- Graphic design for print and social media
- Websites and intranets (CMS or manual HTML)
- Used real OCFP content examples familiar to the organization to make the guidance relevant.
- Included visual dos and don’ts, accessible colour combinations (with RGB/CMYK/HEX), and examples of accessible vs. inaccessible copy, links, tables, and images.
- Focused on the most common recurring barriers seen across years of audits and coaching.
- Added short links to third-party experts, Microsoft documentation, and WAI resources for deeper learning.
- Designed it as an official policy/process document, complete with a “last updated” date to signal it as a living resource.
I put everthing together in InDesign and exported as a two-page cheat sheet in PDF format to keep it simple, undaunting, shareable, and so staff and vendors could print and keep it at their desks for easy access and referencing.
Results
- The guide was reviewed by the team, refined, and published across the organization.
- Early feedback is promising: colleagues have already started changing their habits and applying the basics.
Impact
- As of this writing, it is still early to measure long-term impact, but signs of improvement are emerging. For example, one colleague shared with me, “I hear your voice in my head every time I work on a Word document,” suggesting the guide is reinforcing consistent behaviour change.
What I Learned
There’s a lot to learn about digital accessibility and it can’t all be explained in the short space that I initially anticipated. Therefore, I included only solutions to the barriers and added Bit.ly links for further explanations. This approach allows readers to access small, relevant bits of information that suit their needs.
What I Learned
There’s a lot to learn about digital accessibility and it can’t all be explained in the short space that I initially anticipated. Therefore, I included only solutions to the barriers and added Bit.ly links for further explanations. This approach allows readers to access small, relevant bits of information that suit their needs.
Next Steps
1
Continue updating the guide as accessibility standards evolve. Especially with upcoming WCAG 3.0 changes (e.g., removal of POUR and new bronze/silver/gold levels).
2
Expand sections or add new ones as recurring issues surface in audits or content reviews.
3
Encourage broader use of the guide by embedding it into onboarding, vendor processes, and content workflows.
4
Monitor content quality and request patterns to evaluate how much time and rework the guide helps prevent.
Next Steps
1
Continue updating the guide as accessibility standards evolve. Especially with upcoming WCAG 3.0 changes (e.g., removal of POUR and new bronze/silver/gold levels).
2
Expand sections or add new ones as recurring issues surface in audits or content reviews.
3
Encourage broader use of the guide by embedding it into onboarding, vendor processes, and content workflows.
4
Monitor content quality and request patterns to evaluate how much time and rework the guide helps prevent.