OVERVIEW
Made WCAG feel like Duolingo
An exploration into why WCAG guidelines struggle to turn into practice - and how a gamified experience could change that.
Problem
Designers know they should care about accessibility. They just don't know where to start, and existing resources feel like reading legal documentation.
Solution
A mobile-first learning platform based on the Accessibility Champion program, with XP-based progression, role-specific content paths, and community features that make learning accessibility feel like leveling up in a game.
Impact
Validated concept through Intuit's Accessibility Champions Program. Participants reported increased motivation and daily engagement - behaviors traditional training couldn't achieve.
OVERVIEW
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THE ACCIDENTAL ALLY
/
GRADUATION PROJECT
Made WCAG feel like Duolingo
Made WCAG feel like Duolingo
An exploration into why WCAG guidelines struggle to turn into practice - and how a gamified experience could change that.
An exploration into why WCAG guidelines struggle to turn into practice - and how a gamified experience could change that.
UX/UI
UX/UI
Accessibility
Accessibility
Gamification
Gamification
0 → 1
0 → 1
Ed-tech
Ed-tech
Mobile
Mobile
TL;DR
TL;DR
Problem
Problem
Designers know they should care about accessibility. They just don't know where to start, and existing resources feel like reading legal documentation.
Designers know they should care about accessibility. They just don't know where to start, and existing resources feel like reading legal documentation.
Solution
Solution
A mobile-first learning platform based on the Accessibility Champion program, with XP-based progression, role-specific content paths, and community features that make learning accessibility feel like leveling up in a game.
A mobile-first learning platform based on the Accessibility Champion program, with XP-based progression, role-specific content paths, and community features that make learning accessibility feel like leveling up in a game.
Impact
Impact
Validated concept through Intuit's Accessibility Champions Program. Participants reported increased motivation and daily engagement - behaviors traditional training couldn't achieve.
Validated concept through Intuit's Accessibility Champions Program. Participants reported increased motivation and daily engagement - behaviors traditional training couldn't achieve.
OVERVIEW
PROBLEM
When accessibility became impossible to ignore
When accessibility became impossible to ignore
In 2021, I spent six months at The Accidental Ally - a startup dedicated to making accessibility a natural part of product development. I worked alongside team members who had lived experiences with disabilities. They weren't consultants. They were co-designers shaping the process from day-one.
In 2021, I spent six months at The Accidental Ally - a startup dedicated to making accessibility a natural part of product development. I worked alongside team members who had lived experiences with disabilities. They weren't consultants. They were co-designers shaping the process from day-one.
The team at The Accidental Ally
I watched them navigate products that weren't built for them. I watched people struggle with products that were considered “well designed” but quietly failed them.
Focus traps...
Unannounced errors...
Components that assumed everyone interacted the same way...
I saw how small design decisions - things I'd never considered - created massive barriers.
That experience shaped the direction I spent six months exploring:
This wasn’t about standards.
It was about access.
I watched them navigate products that weren't built for them. I watched people struggle with products that were considered “well designed” but quietly failed them.
Focus traps...
Unannounced errors...
Components that assumed everyone interacted the same way...
I saw how small design decisions - things I'd never considered - created massive barriers.
That experience shaped the direction I spent six months exploring:
This wasn’t about standards.
It was about access.
Role
Role
Founding Product Designer
Founding Product Designer
Team
Team
Sanjay (me), Karmishtha Krishna, Sneha Arvind, Gayatri Kini (Founder), The Dream Team
Sanjay (me), Karmishtha Krishna, Sneha Arvind, Gayatri Kini (Founder), The Dream Team
Timeline
Timeline
~6 months | Apr - Aug 2021
~6 months | Apr - Aug 2021
Skills
Skills
User research & synthesis · Design thinking · Information architecture · User flows · Gamification systems · Mobile UX · Visual & UI design · Prototyping · Usability testing · Accessibility-first design · Stakeholder feedback
User research & synthesis · Design thinking · Information architecture · User flows · Gamification systems · Mobile UX · Visual & UI design · Prototyping · Usability testing · Accessibility-first design · Stakeholder feedback
PROBLEM
RESEARCH
Why accessibility keeps arriving too late - the gap between guidelines and practice
Why accessibility keeps arriving too late - the gap between guidelines and practice
WCAG has existed for over two decades. Resources like WebAIM and The A11y Project are comprehensive and well-made. Intuit even built an Accessibility Champions Program with levels, bootcamps, and badges.
WCAG has existed for over two decades. Resources like WebAIM and The A11y Project are comprehensive and well-made. Intuit even built an Accessibility Champions Program with levels, bootcamps, and badges.
WCAG, WebAIM, A11y Project study
Observations
On paper, brilliant.
In practice?
Most people never get past Level 1.
On paper, brilliant.
In practice?
Most people never get past Level 1.
Interview Insights
I interviewed professionals who had experience with accessibility programs at their companies, along with designers and developers at various career stages. The conversations were different in detail, but the patterns repeated almost immediately.
I interviewed professionals who had experience with accessibility programs at their companies, along with designers and developers at various career stages. The conversations were different in detail, but the patterns repeated almost immediately.
Synthesizing research findings - patterns emerged quickly across all interviews
Synthesizing research findings - patterns emerged quickly across all interviews
High effort, low return
High effort, low return
Large commitments before any visible payoff. Progress felt slow and easy to abandon.
Large commitments before any visible payoff. Progress felt slow and easy to abandon.
Checklist thinking
Checklist thinking
WCAG became a box to tick at the end - not part of how teams actually work.
WCAG became a box to tick at the end - not part of how teams actually work.
Completion ≠ Adoption
Completion ≠ Adoption
Badges marked completion but rarely influenced real product decisions.
Badges marked completion but rarely influenced real product decisions.
Gatekept access
Gatekept access
Corporate programs excluded freelancers and students entirely.
Corporate programs excluded freelancers and students entirely.
Accessibility compliance was being treated like documentation - something to reference occasionally - rather than a system designed for sustained use.
Accessibility compliance was being treated like documentation - something to reference occasionally - rather than a system designed for sustained use.
RESEARCH
GAMIFICATION
When learning systems actually work
When learning systems actually work
I started looking at learning systems that succeed despite being difficult. Systems that make progress visible, reward effort early, and always make the next step feel achievable.
I started looking at learning systems that succeed despite being difficult. Systems that make progress visible, reward effort early, and always make the next step feel achievable.
The owl cometh
The owl cometh
Duolingo teaches something objectively hard - a new language - and keeps millions coming back daily. Not because it's easy, but because it’s engaging, and the experience is designed to support your effort over time.
Duolingo doesn't simplify the content...It structures it.
Progress is visible, there’s constant feedback, and small wins make long-term goals feel achievable.
Duolingo teaches something objectively hard - a new language - and keeps millions coming back daily. Not because it's easy, but because it’s engaging, and the experience is designed to support your effort over time.
Duolingo doesn't simplify the content...It structures it.
Progress is visible, there’s constant feedback, and small wins make long-term goals feel achievable.
Progress is spatial
Progress is spatial
Literally seeing yourself going down a path
Literally seeing yourself going down a path
Loss aversion
Loss aversion
Nobody wants to break a 100-day streak
Nobody wants to break a 100-day streak
Instant feedback
Instant feedback
Every session ends with visible reward
Every session ends with visible reward
Social pressure
Social pressure
Compete with friends and strangers alike
Compete with friends and strangers alike
This reframed the entire exploration. Accessibility education didn't need clearer guidelines. It needed a better learning experience.
What if it felt less like reading documentation and more like moving through a well-designed system? Engagement wouldn't rely on discipline alone. It would rely on design.
This reframed the entire exploration. Accessibility education didn't need clearer guidelines. It needed a better learning experience.
What if it felt less like reading documentation and more like moving through a well-designed system? Engagement wouldn't rely on discipline alone. It would rely on design.
the Theory of gamification
the Theory of gamification
Using Yu-kai Chou's Octalysis Framework, I mapped how these gamification elements could transform accessibility education - from Epic Meaning (you're part of something bigger than yourself) to Loss avoidance (don't break the streak). The framework gave me a vocabulary for what Duolingo was doing right and what accessibility education was missing.
Using Yu-kai Chou's Octalysis Framework, I mapped how these gamification elements could transform accessibility education - from Epic Meaning (you're part of something bigger than yourself) to Loss avoidance (don't break the streak). The framework gave me a vocabulary for what Duolingo was doing right and what accessibility education was missing.
Applying Yu-kai Chou's 8 core drives
GAMIFICATION
FRAMEWORK
Turning a framework into something people stick with
Turning a framework into something people stick with
The Accessibility Champions Program already had a strong foundation - levels, progression, certification. But the core problem wasn't the framework. It was the reach. Corporate-only access meant freelancers, students, and independent designers were locked out entirely.
I explored what this framework might look like if it were designed for a much wider audience - mobile-first, self-paced, and built to feel like an engaging, gamified experience and not like a corporate training program.
The Accessibility Champions Program already had a strong foundation - levels, progression, certification. But the core problem wasn't the framework. It was the reach. Corporate-only access meant freelancers, students, and independent designers were locked out entirely.
I explored what this framework might look like if it were designed for a much wider audience - mobile-first, self-paced, and built to feel like an engaging, gamified experience and not like a corporate training program.
the breakdown
the breakdown
Level 01
Awareness
Universal foundation. What is accessibility? Why does it matter? No jargon. concepts anyone can understand.
Level 02
Fundamentals
Role-specific paths. Core principles applied to your discipline - design, development, or management.
Level 03
Applied
Scenario-based learning. Real case studies. Interactive challenges where you identify and fix issues.
Level 04
Advanced
Edge cases and platform-specific nuances. Complex component patterns. Mobile vs. desktop considerations.
Level 05
🏆 Champion
Teaching others. Leading reviews. Mentoring new learners. Building advocates who spread the practice.
Complete flow showing onboarding, daily learning loop, role selection, and social features
Primary user flows - from first launch through Champion certification
App structure: Home, Learn, Community, Profile, Settings
App structure: Home, Learn, Community, Profile, Settings
Information architecture - five primary areas, each serving a distinct purpose
FRAMEWORK
DESIGN
Creating an Identity
Creating an Identity
Building the interface
Building the interface
The design needed to embody the principles it was teaching. Every decision started with accessibility - not as an afterthought, but as the foundation.
The design needed to embody the principles it was teaching. Every decision started with accessibility - not as an afterthought, but as the foundation.
Wireframes and Lo-fi
Sketches and Wireframes
Brand Identity
Brand Identity
The name "Able" reflects the core mission: making people feel able to learn accessibility.
The name "Able" reflects the core mission: making people feel able to learn accessibility.
Typography
Typography
Inter. 16px minimum body text. 1.5 line height. Clear Hierarchy.
Inter. 16px minimum body text. 1.5 line height. Clear Hierarchy.
Colour palette
Colour palette
All color combinations meet WCAG AA contrast requirements.
All color combinations meet WCAG AA contrast requirements.
Components
Components
Minimum 48×48dp touch targets. Generous spacing. Clear focus states for keyboard navigation.
Minimum 48×48dp touch targets. Generous spacing. Clear focus states for keyboard navigation.
DESIGN
SOLUTION
Able, in detail
Able, in detail
All of this thinking - the research, the Duolingo analysis, the framework redesign, culminated in Able.
A vision for what accessibility education and implementation could look like if it were built to engage, not just inform.
All of this thinking - the research, the Duolingo analysis, the framework redesign, culminated in Able.
A vision for what accessibility education and implementation could look like if it were built to engage, not just inform.
Course library with XP indicators
Progress ring, streak, recommendations
Content view with progress
Achievements and stats