Whale-watching
Accessibility, content design and thoughts.
A few years ago, I studied anthropology. My curiosity about understanding rituals and a bit of human behavior led me down that path. And what I found most fascinating was that I learned many (MANY!) analogies using nature as a source of inspiration.
I have my plants, I love spending time outdoors, walking barefoot on the grass, picking fruit straight from the tree… and these little moments of connection with “green” recharge me, inspire me, and help me grow.
In one of these studies, during my short two years in anthropology, I don’t remember who said it, who wrote it down, or who documented this thought, but I’ll try to share it here with you:
Life is like whale watching.
You go to a viewpoint where they say you can spot whales.
Day one, you see nothing.
Day two… nothing.
Day three… guess what? Nothing.
Day four: hey! I think I see some movement on the horizon.
Day five: oh! I think I saw a fin!
Day six: wow! I can see a whale breaching and the water splashing!
Day seven: you can’t wait to get back to that viewpoint to watch the whales swimming and dancing in the water!
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There are moments when, right then, we don’t see a need or a way out. Maybe you just need to come back another day and look again.
With accessibility, which has been my guiding force in recent years, sometimes we might think: “Oh, it’s just about making it accessible and following the WCAG (Web Content Accessibility Guidelines).”
Well, it’s not just about making it accessible. And that’s where things get tricky.
Making something accessible also means thinking about the experience. What’s the point of following the guidelines if they don’t actually work on the website?
For example, you might design the entire page but forget to code it so screen readers can do their job.
Or you might think about color contrast, but forget to adjust font sizes so that the zoom functions properly and stays clear.
It’s not easy — it takes work, but it’s worth it.
It requires research, care, attention, empathy, planting many seeds out there, and a lot of collaboration.
And you know what’s great? There’s always a new technology or update for us to learn. The accessibility universe is constantly evolving and welcoming.
Being accessible is about thinking of the present and the future; it’s about knowing that the seeds you plant today will become the fruits we can all share and enjoy tomorrow.
And if you start feeling discouraged, remember: just like whale watching, sometimes you don’t see the results right away, but eventually, they appear. And it’s gratifying.
