# Accessibility — Design system

The accessibility foundation of a design system including the standards, tooling, and shared conventions that ensure every component and pattern is built inclusively from the start.

Source: https://www.checklist.design/design-system/accessibility

## Items

### Target conformance level
The WCAG conformance target the team has committed to documented and referenced in contribution guidelines. AA as a baseline for most products, with AAA achievable for specific criteria such as text contrast.

_Tip: WCAG AA is a typical  baseline for most products, with AAA achievable for specific criteria such as text contrast_

### Colour contrast standards
The contrast ratios verified across all text and interactive element colour combinations (4.5:1 for normal text, 3:1 for large text and UI components)

_Tip: Show these ratios in existing UI_

### Focus indicator design
A visible, high-contrast focus indicator designed for every interactive component

_Tip: Show clear examples for most common interactive components like button and input field_

### Keyboard navigation patterns
Standard keyboard interaction patterns documented and applied consistently e.g. arrow keys for menus and listboxes, Enter and Space for activation, Escape for dismissal

### ARIA pattern library
Attributes that make web content accessible to those who use assistive technologies with roles, states, and properties defined for every interactive component pattern

### Screen reader testing
Components tested with at least VoiceOver on Safari and NVDA on Chrome before shipping

### Accessibility annotations in design
A shared annotation kit used in design files to specify ARIA labels, roles, reading order, and focus behaviour

### Accessibility in contribution guidelines
Ensuring accessibility requirements are part of the component contribution checklist

## License for the Checklist Design collection

Checklist Design collection: https://github.com/Checklist-Design/skills
Snapshot: bfae71e507b1b7c03c12e0756402b60eb80f5d14 · Imported: 2026-11-12
Republished under the MIT License. Original checklist text belongs to Checklist Design.

MIT License

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