My journey to Accessibility
Thanks to a strong sense of empathy, I’ve always cared about other’s experience, which naturally fueled my curiosity and desire to learn. My true journey toward inclusivity and accessibility began with TOOS Parents and its inclusive mission.
It began with a need for representation...
1. The wake-up call
2. Mapping the Diversity Gap
I started by identifying the groups that were noticeably absent from mainstream platforms:
- LGBTQIA+ and solo parents (a significant portion of our audience as we cater to socially infertile individuals),
- people of color,
- individuals from various cultures and religions,
- disabled (both physio and neuro),
- people whose body, especially in the context of parentality, is not representated
With these target groups in mind, I began to address the visual representations over our future website and social media. However, the stock image libraries available at the time were sorely lacking in these areas, especially for a tight-budget startup like ours.
3. Diving into Illustration
Illustration quickly emerged as a versatile alternative, offering the customization needed to authentically represent our audience.
This is where my illustration journey began. Initially, I worked with existing vector illustrations in Adobe Illustrator, tweaking them to better suit our needs. But as the project grew, so did the need for originality. I eventually moved on to creating illustrations from scratch using Procreate, honing my skills with every iteration.
Thanks to Illustration I was able to represent diverse parenthood.
4. From Representation to Inclusive UX/UI Design
The illustration process wasn’t just about visual representation—it directly influenced our platform’s UX/UI design.
We took great care to include gender identities and reproductive information in a way that felt inclusive and respectful during user onboarding and in filter options. We also made sure to include transgender and non-binary parenting experience in our testimonies to give a platform and representation to gender inclusion.
Our focus on inclusivity didn’t stop there. We submitted our platform to an organization specializing in web accessibility for review, marking the beginning of our journey towards making our site more accessible. While there’s still a lot of room for improvement today, that initial step set the foundation for our ongoing efforts.
5. Sharing the Experience
Throughout this process, we’ve kept our community informed by sharing our inclusivity journey on social media.
We wanted to create a space where parents, future parents and future children could feel represented and included, regardless of their background or identity.
To do so I created a Inclusive representation guide for our team mates and a part of it was shared on our social media to educate about sexualities, genders, families and gender norms.
As a summary, my venture into illustration wasn’t just about learning a new skill; it was about creating a platform that genuinely reflects the diverse world we live in.
This journey has taught me that design is a powerful tool—not just for visual appeal, but for fostering inclusivity, understanding, and respect in every aspect of the user experience.
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