Claire Webber

Continuing the series of helping you get to know our awesome team, meet Claire Webber! Claire is one of the newest members of the Intopia crew, having joined us in October 2019. She’s also currently our solo South Australian representative.

We sat down with Claire to ask about the highlights of her career in accessibility so far, what she most loves working on, and learn more about the SA accessibility scene.

Tell us a bit about your work history, and what made you want to join Intopia?

I started my IT career as a Digital Apprentice at the Department of Human Services in 2015. There, I started working in a QA role, before learning a bit about digital accessibility. I started working more and more doing accessibility testing, before moving to doing it full-time as part of a UX team. Working as part of a UX team was very valuable experience. I was very lucky to consistently have a management team who valued the importance of accessible content as much as I did.

I found myself looking for more of a challenge, and to be able to work on a broader range of products and technologies. At this point, my main experience had been working for Federal Government and I thought it would be a good move to dip my toes into the private sector. Luckily, Intopia was advertising.

What do you enjoy working on the most?

I really enjoy the investigatory and problem-solving side to doing accessibility work. Completing an audit can make you feel like a puzzle-solving detective! It feels good to know the clients on the other end appreciate the work we do and will take my detective work to improve their product.

What are the highlights of your time in accessibility so far?

A highlight for me has been to see the growth for the accessibility community in Adelaide. The Adelaide A11y Meetup has had several successful events so far. Recently the South Australian Government’s Online Accessibility Toolkit was a duel category winner for the Australian Access Awards. Adelaide has also had their first DDD event, which had several excellent accessibility presentations. Scott Cabot’s talk on making gaming accessible was a standout for me. Check out Heaps Good Dev and Front-End Developers Adelaide for more Adelaide events.

What’s next when it comes to achieving a world without digital barriers?

It is important to take responsibility for digital products and the impacts they have on the humans using them. Take responsibility to ensure inclusive design is a standard approach rather than a ‘nice to have’. Awareness and education are key.

What advice would you give those facing roadblocks with implementing accessibility / digital inclusion in their work?

It can be a large and overwhelming task sometimes when your organisation is first implementing digital inclusion. But there will be somebody out there who has overcome the same problem. Reach out to your local communities and meetup groups. We all want to help each other create a more equal and inclusive digital world. Take it one step at a time and celebrate your progress.

In my spare time you will find me…

In my spare time, you can find me working on craft projects. It is great to work with your hands after a day on the computer. Recently I have been working on a few embroidery projects. However, on the weekend you can find me playing video games. Recently I have been obsessed with Planet Zoo!