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Continuous Learning in Web Design at Axe-Con | BNP Engage

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Continuous Learning: Enhancing Digital Experiences with Accessibility Insights

At BNP Engage, we believe that great digital experiences are built on innovation and continuously sharpening our tool kit through continued learning. That’s why our talented web design team recently attended Axe-Con, a premier event dedicated to digital accessibility.

During Axe-Con, several of our team members immersed themselves in industry-leading discussions, gaining fresh insights to advance their expertise in web design and development. From improving accessibility compliance to refining user experience strategies, every takeaway contributes to building more inclusive and effective digital experiences. By applying these new learnings, our team continues to push the boundaries of innovation, ensuring our clients benefit from the latest best practices in web accessibility.

Check out what they learned and are excited to share.

 

Leandra Tomaine, Development Lead

At Axe-Con 2025, I attended Testing Products for Accessibility: Why Manual and Automated Testing Go Hand-in-Hand, presented by John Caplinger. I really appreciated how this session broke down the strengths and limitations of both automated and manual accessibility testing. With so much focus on AI and automation these days, John provided an important reminder – no automated tool can fully replace human testing. While automation helps with efficiency, accessibility is ultimately about people and no tool can replace human judgment and lived experiences

My key takeaways:

  • Automation is great for detecting measurable issues- like missing alt text or low color contrast.
  • Human testing is essential for real-world usability- For example, no automated tool has ever flagged that increasing my OS and browser font size can sometimes break layouts and hide content.
  • Every user interacts with digital products differently- AI can’t replicate the variety of ways people navigate the web, especially those with disabilities.
  • A balanced approach is best- Automation helps speed up testing, but manual review ensures accessibility isn’t just a checkbox—it actually improves usability.

For our clients, this means taking a strategic approach to accessibility and using automation for efficiency where it helps, while always keeping real users at the center of accessibility efforts. By keeping real users at the center, businesses don’t just meet compliance requirements. They create digital experiences that are truly inclusive, improving engagement, usability, and trust.

 

Megan Manning, Senior Design Lead 

My favorite course this year at Axe-Con was: No, Seriously, F*ck Engagement: Building a More Human Web 

My key takeaways: At our core humans (should) value community, generosity, and equity. However, the commodification of the internet has created an environment where users are treated as products, engagement is optimized for profit, and misinformation and hate speech thrive due to the business model of social media platforms. It is our responsibility as humans who build the web to keep users’ (human beings’) needs at the forefront and design for reciprocity.

This course is a great reminder of how influential and essential the internet has become to humans, and the responsibility that lies with those of us who design for it.

How does this benefit us all?

  • Ethical Brand Reputation: A company can build trust and differentiate itself from competitors relying on exploitative engagement tactics.
  • User Retention & Loyalty: When users feel valued and not just like data points for advertising, they are more likely to return, recommend, and advocate for your platform.
  • Compliance & Risk Reduction: Ethical design aligns with evolving regulations on data privacy, accessibility, and misinformation, reducing potential legal risks.
  • Employee Morale & Culture: A company committed to ethical design attracts and retains employees who want to make a positive impact, fostering a healthier workplace culture.
  • Sustainable Growth Over Vanity Metrics: Engagement for the sake of engagement is unsustainable. By designing for meaningful user interactions, you can build a lasting, valuable digital presence.

 

Blake Pertl, Web Designer

Favorite Course: Typographer vs. Accessibility 

My key takeaways: In this course, the presenter, Oliver Schöndorfer from Pimp My Type, broke down 5 common design-related accessibility myths. While it is common thought that creating an accessible website means boring and flat designs, he explained how to combat these challenges presented by accessibility guidelines to create websites that are functional, expressive, modern, and bold, but still accessible for all users.

The benefits: The presenter showcased different methodologies to keep website typography / color combinations interesting and engaging, while ensuring the website design still complies with accessibility guidelines for legibility and color contrast ratio.

How does this benefit our clients? Accessible typography enhances a website’s usability, readability, and overall user experience. Clear, legible fonts make website content easier to read, reducing strain for all users, especially those with visual impairments or cognitive disabilities.

 

Tess Ewing, Web Developer  

At Axe-Con 2025, I attended a session called “No, Seriously, F*ck Engagement: Building a More Human Web”, presented by David Dylan Thomas. This session focused on how to build “person-oriented” designs on the web, and how doing so can (and should) affect the society we live in.

It was refreshing to hear someone advocate for real human interaction over the amount of clicks a piece of content receives. In our industry, it can be easy to get lost in the data of it all:

  • What meets certain standards
  • How many shares a post gets
  • Where a page gets listed in Google results

Really, we should be taking a step back and asking:

  • Is this content useful to people?
  • How might people learn from this article?
  • Who all might be affected by this new product?

Of course, accessibility plays a part in those questions. And it makes you wonder, where else have I been forgetting to stop and ask myself who gets access to this content / space / idea? While I got so many technical tips and tricks to up my development skills all throughout Axe-Con, I am glad this was one of the first sessions I attended as it really put everything else into perspective of why what we are doing matters so much.

 

By staying ahead of best practices in accessible web design, we ensure that our clients’ digital presence is not only visually stunning but also functional and inclusive for all users. Our commitment to ongoing learning empowers us to create websites that meet the highest accessibility standards, fostering a seamless experience for every visitor.

Need help making your website stand out? See what the team at BNP Engage can do for you.