The InDesign + Accessibility Summit:
A CreativePro Online Event

Brief introduction to our topic and speakers for our first-ever accessibility summit!

Creating accessible documents requires not just following guidelines, but understanding their intent. Join Dax as he steps through the 13 principals of WCAG. Learn which ones you should memorize, which ones will give you the most grief and what to do about it when it comes to document accessibility.

The best way to learn why accessibility is important is to experience it yourself! Who are those of us with disabilities who are trying to access your digital content? What is the difference between how someone who is blind or has a visual disability and someone with a learning, cognitive or print disability approaches digital content. This session guides you through:

• Examples of how people with visual, learning, cognitive or print disabilities see digital content.
• Examples of the technology used to access digital content.
• Samples of a screen reader reading inaccessible and accessible content.

The session ends with a real-life example of how inaccessible digital content impedes those of us with disabilities from reaching our potential.

Creating accessible PDF files is anything but straightforward, but Adobe InDesign is one of the most powerful tools you can use to do it! Join us for a focused overview of the essential steps you need to take in order to generate clean, solid, accessible PDF files from Adobe InDesign. In this session you’ll learn:

• Fundamental components of building InDesign documents in preparation for accessible PDF output.
• Learn tips and shortcuts for making the process easier.
• Learn what not to do to avoid annoying and frustrating roadblocks.
• Learn powerful InDesign features to streamline the process.

Meet the speakers and other designers in this informal meetup and discussion.

Tables are one of the hardest things to get right in accessible documents. Most of the time we are stuck with what we are given and told to “make it accessible” Learn from the master as he explains the ins and outs, what to watch out for, what will take up most of your time and shortcuts that will keep you out of the weeds.

Learn how to design with accessibility in mind—and you won't have to sacrifice creativity! In this session you will learn:

• who benefits from accessible color choices
• guidelines pertaining to color and contrast
• how to check color and contrast
• how to resolve issues
• why it’s important for designers to think about accessibility as early as possible in the design process, even at the branding stage

The InDesign team is joining us! Learn what they've been up to, ask questions, and help drive the future of accessibility features in InDesign.

Join us for a fun discussion about common problems designers have when attempting to create accessible documents, their sometimes painful results, and what we can learn from these experiences.

Welcome to Day 2 of The InDesign + Accessibility Summit!

When creating digital documents from InDesign, you should also consider the common EPUB format. But EPUB has its own accessibility challenges. Learn how to work the InDesign gears to make better ebooks. Publishing to any ebook store (Amazon Kindle, Barnes and Noble's Nook, Apple iBooks, Google Play, Kobo, etc) means coming to terms with ebook formats. Making accessible ebooks from ID requires understanding a few first principles about accessibility in ebooks and how to use a few key ID tools to help you get there.

• Edit all export tags for semantic structure
• Understand the impact of the export to EPUB options
• Some tools and scripts to help you get there

Learn strategies and techniques from one of the world’s leading accessibility experts! From the front cover to the back – and everything in between — these tips will help you build accessible projects faster and easier, and improve your mastery of the tags and reading order. And you’ll see better results in the final PDF, too.

If you are tired of patterned fills in your charts and graphs, this session will teach you 3 other methods of accessibility compliance without making your existing graphic look even more confusing. Learn the art of Labels, Symbology, Strokes and how to write effective alt-text. Never struggle with accessible charts and graphs again!

Meet the speakers and other designers in this informal meetup and discussion.

As hard as you try, you just can't do everything you need in InDesign. Learn about key next steps that require Acrobat to tweak the PDF for accessibility and add some required features. Also gain insight in how to plan and manage an accessible project, as well as key points to have in your contracts and work orders.

You have been thrown into the deep end of the accessibility pool and have been told to swim. Or, maybe you dove in all on your own. Either way, in this session you will learn how to approach being the subject matter expert in your company. This session will teach you:

• What to do to gain and maintain credibility
• Major pitfalls to avoid
• Techniques for becoming the one they run to and not the one they run away from!

Sure, you can do most of what you need in InDesign and Acrobat… but you can often do it easier or quicker with a third-party tool. Discover these expert's favorite add-ons for stepping up your accessibility workflow, from good to great.