Accessibility catalog

Status: ready

Why a catalog

The chapters are read in order. The catalog is for a team in the middle of a screen review, a PR, a bug or a release check: find the smell, pick the fix, check the result.

Two kinds of cards:

  1. Smells describe a problem: the symptom, why it blocks the task, the root cause, the fix and the check.
  2. Patterns describe how to do one thing right: the verdict, the code for SwiftUI and UIKit (and AppKit or process where it applies), the check and the pitfalls.

Chapter 17 connects both on real screens: find the smells, apply the patterns, record before and after.

Where to start

Situation Start with
The screen is already broken Smells
Building a component or flow from scratch Patterns
Explaining to the team why it matters The chapters
Preparing a release or App Store labels Testing Evidence Record, Evidence Based Release, App Store Label Evidence
Arguing priority with leadership or legal Business case for accessibility, Legal context without legal theater

The order of the smells

The smells follow the way a screen review usually goes:

  1. Missing semantics: the icon has no name, the card is noisy, the order is wrong.
  2. Overcorrection: the team grouped too much or announces too much.
  3. State and feedback: errors, loading, selection, motion and disabled states.
  4. Input alternatives: gestures, target size, voice commands, maps, timeouts.
  5. Release truth: a tool result counts only when it's tied to a user task.

Reading routes

Screen review

  1. Mystery Icon
  2. Label Soup
  3. Reading Order Drift
  4. Color Only State
  5. Silent Error
  6. Focus Black Hole

For the first accessibility pass on an unfamiliar screen.

Interaction

  1. Swipe Trap
  2. Tiny Target
  3. Duplicate Voice Command
  4. Map Dead End
  5. Timeout Pressure

For when touch works and other input methods might not.

Release

  1. Scanner Theater
  2. AI Verification Theater
  3. App Store Label Drift
  4. Testing Evidence Record
  5. Evidence Based Release

For the last days before shipping, when the team needs evidence.

  1. Business case for accessibility
  2. Legal context without legal theater
  3. Compliance Theater
  4. Vendor Blind Spot
  5. Regulatory Evidence Map
  6. Compliance Ready PR

For when the roadmap, procurement, legal or leadership asks why accessibility needs funding and tracking.

Chapters and cards

Cards don't repeat the chapters. A card gives the symptom, the fix and the check. A chapter gives the reasoning, platform details and sources. The chapter reading map links each chapter to its cards.

Smell card format

Name
Symptom              (shown as the summary on the site)
Where it shows up
Why it blocks the task
Root cause
Before
Fix                  verdict, why, code
What we don't do     when overcorrection is likely
Check                profile, task, expected result
WCAG mapping
App Store and product risk, when relevant
Related patterns
Related chapters
Sources

Pattern card format

Name
Intent               (shown as the summary on the site)
Problem
Solution             verdict, why
Implementation
Check                profile, task, expected result
Pitfalls
WCAG mapping
Related smells
Related chapters
Sources

Index

  1. Smells
  2. Patterns
  3. Chapter reading map