Blind Perspective: How to Find It

There was already an article in this series about online shopping, but that was more about everyday life. This time, however, I was given a work-related task. As we’re preparing our annual report, I needed to find a company that could handle the DTP (desktop publishing) for a digital report. Sounds simple, right? Well, not exactly.

What was I looking for?

I needed to find someone who could design the layout based on our visual branding. It was also important that the final publication be digitally accessible.

Let the search begin

Anyone who has searched online for a product or service knows that it can sometimes be quite a challenge. Even though companies try to make their websites rank high in search results, you still have to filter out the good from the bad. I had to basically ignore the first ten results that popped up, as they were more about self-publishing and courses on the topic than the service I was looking for. But that was to be expected, so I calmly kept searching.

What did I find?

I visited many websites of companies that provide similar services. Their offers included all types of publications, from reports and calendars to school textbooks, academic texts, novels, comics, or poetry. But how to choose? Several doubts came to mind. Here are a few: 

• Examples in their portfolios rarely matched the format we needed. In our case, we were looking for something in PDF format. Most examples were images with vague alternative text like “example of a report” or “example of an academic publication.” And if there were files to review, the digital accessibility of the document wasn’t even considered.
• The level of digital accessibility of the companies’ websites varied a lot. It was hard to navigate such sites, let alone figure out how to order or get a quote for the service we needed.
• Since the structure of a document is crucial for digital accessibility, I paid close attention to things like header structure on their websites. When this was poorly done, I started to wonder: Even though the company claimed to have worked with public institutions (which are required to ensure the accessibility of their digital documents), could they properly prepare our report? Their website raised doubts. So how could I trust that they would do the job right?

In summary 

A website is a digital business card for many companies and institutions. The example above shows that the criteria potential clients use may not always be obvious. If digital accessibility isn’t yet one of your priorities, what are you waiting for? Let’s talk and make your digital product more user-friendly for everyone.