> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://toolkit.makeagrid.com/grid-toolkit/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://toolkit.makeagrid.com/grid-toolkit/designing-accessibly/accessible-design-is-a-priority.md).

# Accessible design is a priority

Always remember that accessible design should be your baseline, not a stretch goal.

## Learn more about accessibility

Design does not need to be complicated, and you do not need to be a graphic designer to create a good document. This is not a substitute for a design course, but this is a great place to start your thinking about design past a wall of black Times New Roman text on a white page. 

Accessible design is often an afterthought. Accessible design is not just good for people with blindness and colorblindness--it can help people with learning disabilities, and some practices (like alternative text) can make your content still consumable on poor web connections and less modern hardware.

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Deque has some helpful [**resources** ](https://www.deque.com/accessible-design/)on accessible design, if you want to learn more.
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The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign offers a free Coursera [**course** ](https://www.coursera.org/learn/accessibility)on accessible design.
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## Use design elements

This is not a design course. However, here are some free resources for creating documents in.

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[**Canva:**](https://www.canva.com/) a free (with paid option) design platform with plenty of beautiful, attractive templates that make designing graphical documents easier. Not all the templates are accessible, so you should still evaluate accessibility.
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[**Gitbooks:**](https://www.gitbook.com/) a free (with paid option) documentation creation tool (which hosts this toolkit). It has basic accessibility built-in in many ways, but is not a flawless accessible option by default. 

**Some design elements to be mindful of include:**

* captions are the only option for image alternate text
* captions of images lack contrast from the page with some settings
* limited options for varying the format of text
* hyperlinks do not look distinctive on their own
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[**Google Docs:** ](https://docs.google.com/)a free design platform. It is a great alternative for those who need a free, easy-to-use option that still has a bit of power for formatting documents.
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## Consider learning visual design theory

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[**The Building Blocks of Visual Design** ](https://web.archive.org/web/20210311034804/https://www.interaction-design.org/literature/article/the-building-blocks-of-visual-design)is a free guide by the Interaction Design Foundation that teaches basic elements of design. You can read (or scan) the whole guide in 32 minutes.
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