Recorded live at CreativePro Week 2026, this episode features Theresa Jackson talking with document accessibility experts Dax Castro and Chad Chelius about practical ways designers can start creating more accessible documents. Dax and Chad begin by sharing their own journeys into accessibility and how they came to focus on helping others create more inclusive documents. From there, they explain how small decisions in InDesign, PowerPoint, and PDF workflows can improve the experience for people using assistive technology. The conversation covers document metadata, heading structure, lists, decorative elements, accessibility checkers, screen readers, and what to do with older documents that were not designed with accessibility in mind.
Show Highlights: Accessibility Quickstart Tips
- Add a descriptive document title and review the author information in your file metadata.
- Build a clear heading structure with paragraph styles mapped to H1–H6 tags.
- Use built-in list tools so screen readers recognize and announce lists correctly.
- Check color contrast early, before your palette becomes embedded throughout the design.
- Mark decorative graphics, running headers, and footers as artifacts so screen readers can skip them.
- Create an object style and keyboard shortcut to artifact decorative elements more efficiently in InDesign.
- Run an accessibility checker, but do not assume a passing result guarantees a good user experience.
- Test PDFs with a screen reader such as JAWS, NVDA, or Apple VoiceOver to hear how the content is actually presented.
- Fix reusable documents at the source whenever possible, especially templates and recurring reports.
- Use automated tagging tools to improve large collections of legacy PDFs, then review the results.
- Start with manageable improvements and build your accessibility skills over time.
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