BACKGROUND
The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) Title II deadline is April 2026 for state and local government accessibility, demanding compliance not just in buildings, but across websites, apps, and all digital services. Capital Group hired Tamman, Inc. to fix their source documents and PDF's for compliance with Title II. I subcontracted as an accessible InDesign production lead.
CHALLENGE
1500+ files from 24 divisions. Document types ranged from complex forms, 2-page fund fact sheets, 24-page sales brochures (with companion PowerPoint decks), and 85-page annual reports in both English and French Canadian. High volume, high pressure, work in lockstep with QA team.
OUTCOME
1500+ files delivered with clean PDF Accessibility Checker (PAC) rep0rts in 12 months. Average time per file: less than 3 hours.
TECH and TOOLS
We mapped the existing brand colors to new accessible swatches and used Adobe CC libraries for both color and as a repository of updated accessible tables.
Axaio's InDesign plug-in MadeToTag was the true MVP. It made heading structure easy to scan, handled complex tables seamlessly, and also kept track of several languages.
We checked color contrast using the Color Contrast Analyser overlay, automated alt text extraction and insertion with custom scripts, and created internal remediation guidelines to ensure consistent user experience.
We became skilled in fixing all types of charts, graphs, and infographics in Illustrator and PowerPoint.
This project was a rewarding InDesign accessibility bootcamp!
