Product Designer interview question
How do you design for accessibility?
Design accessibility from the start with semantic structure, keyboard order, visible focus, contrast, scalable text, clear labels and errors, alternatives to color and motion, target sizes, and testing with disabled users and assistive technology.
Direct answer
What a strong answer covers
How it works
Accessible design is a set of decisions made at the start, when they are cheap. Structure uses real headings, landmarks, and lists so assistive technology can navigate. Every interactive element is reachable and operable by keyboard in a sensible order with visible focus. Text meets contrast ratios and scales to 200 percent without loss. Controls have visible labels, errors say what went wrong and how to fix it, and information is never conveyed by colour or motion alone. Touch targets are large enough, animation respects reduced-motion preferences, and the design is tested with keyboard, screen readers, and people with disabilities rather than only with an automated checker.
Example
A form redesign specified heading levels and landmarks in the design file, focus order and visible focus rings for every field, error messages placed next to the field and announced, contrast of 4.5 to 1 verified in the tokens, and a 44-pixel minimum target. Testing with two screen-reader users found that the date picker trapped focus, which was fixed before development finished; the automated checker had passed the same screen.
Common mistakes
- Treating accessibility as a checklist run after the design is done.
- Using colour alone to show validation state or chart series.
- Removing focus outlines for aesthetics and never providing a replacement.
A useful answer structure
Answer from your own work.
Do not memorise a script: use only examples you can explain honestly in follow-up questions.
Open the desktop workspace and rehearse a clear answer in your own words.