Just Call Me DK

Hi there! I'm David A. Kennedy, but my friends call me DK. I work as a Managing Staff Designer at Ad Hoc, focusing on inclusive design, accessibility and people management. You can reach me at the usual place and find out more about me on this site.

I’m an accessibility advocate who loves the open web and open source design and code. I curate a popular newsletter called Accessibility Weekly. Before working on the web, I wrote words instead of code as a journalist.

What I Do as a Designer

I have more than a decade of design and front-end development experience, spanning non-profits, start-ups and government agencies. The connecting line in my work has been a knack for understanding where people are coming from, running toward “sticky” problems and having an accessibility-first mindset.

I approach my work through a few principles:

Stay curious. Progress happens because of new questions or questions asked in a different way. Keep at it.
Be the glue. Be present, and don’t take up space. Fill the gaps.
Apply constant, intelligent pressure. Magic doesn’t exist. Everything worthwhile gets created because people show up every day and do the boring stuff.

My Interests

Working in the open with open source design and code
Creating inclusive and accessible experiences
Helping people level up
Building healthy teams and cultures that foster growth

Writing Highlights

Speaking of words, I’ve collected of few of my favorite posts I’ve written on this site and elsewhere. You might enjoy reading them.

If that’s not enough, here are some of the latest posts form my blog.