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.
- When to Manage Focus in an Accessible Way
- The Intersection of Markup, Content and Context in Accessibility
- Practicing Web Accessibility Differently
- Talking About Web Accessibility Differently
- Thinking About Web Accessibility Differently
- Screen Reader Tips for Web Designers and Developers
- Accessibility Tunnel Vision
- Testing for Web Accessibility in 60 Seconds
If that’s not enough, here are some of the latest posts form my blog.
- Accessibility and MVPs
- On Twitter
- Designing for Web Accessibility in 60 Seconds
- Admire Actions
- Ad Hoc's Accessibility Playbook
You can also follow me on Twitter.