Podcast Review - The Big Web Show 160: Color Accessibility Workflows with Geri Coady

Jeffrey Zeldman is an interesting figure in the world of Web design with a colourful history. Many of his early works had an impact on me when I was learning about the Web. He hosts The Big Web Show in which he interviews people that are doing interesting things on the Web.

Episodes of The Big Web Show don’t normally make it onto my list of favourite podcast episodes. The production quality is not as high as many of the other podcasts I listen to and Jeffrey sometimes goes off on tangents that can be a little off-putting.

And, in the case of this episode, there were audio level issues in the beginning and minor annoyances throughout. However, typically the interview and information being shared far outweigh any such annoyances. Episode 160 is definitely worth listening to.

Episode 160 introduces us to Geri Coady, an illustrator, designer, and author with a passion for colour accessibility. Jeffrey starts the interview by quickly sharing some minor details flowing into some soft questions about Geri’s blog.

The interview then goes to Geri’s early history about how she started as an illustrator and her early education and first career as a print designer. She then spoke about how she pivoted her career into Web design just as responsive design started gaining traction.

The interview then focused on Geri’s book about colour accessibility and this is where this podcast really became very interesting. Her stories about colour and accessibility are eye-opening.

The message is clear - design for accessibility from the beginning, not as an afterthought. Geri’s focus on colour within the realm of accessibility is thought provoking.