Users are often labeled as “difficult” when they struggle with a product or process. In reality, those users are early warning signals, exposing accessibility and usability issues before they impact a broader audience.

This session re-frames “difficult users” as critical inputs into better design and more effective systems.

Solving for the Edges challenges conventional thinking by exploring what happens when we move beyond the middle and include those often left out of research and decision-making. Through real-world examples, this session shows how edge-case solutions become everyday innovations. Open to all, it’s an invitation to think bigger, challenge assumptions, and discover that the most impactful outcomes are found beyond the average.

Accessibility isn’t a task you finish. We audit, fix, and launch but the work can quietly slip as content changes, teams evolve, and standards advance.


This session explores accessibility as a living practice across the lifecycle of open source projects, including insights from WCAG 2.2, WCAG 3, and the European Accessibility Act. Learn how to keep accessibility from fading after launch and build workflows that sustain progress.

This talk explores actionable strategies and best practices for achieving accessible development by outlining key wishes and effective annotation techniques for designers and developers to enhance collaboration and inclusivity in digital product creation.

In this session, a front-end developer and designer share how accessibility was placed at the center of building a multi-brand design system that supports both flexibility and compliance. Using the Stop HIV lowa and Stop Human Trafficking Iowa marketing sites as primary examples. From color contrast to adaptable components that serve diverse audiences, the talk highlights how accessibility informed both design and development decisions.