Ignored by Most, Accessibility Became the Hidden Win in App Design

For years, accessibility in app design was often treated as a checklist item, squeezed in at the end of product development or only considered to meet legal standards. But for UX designer Sajindas Devidas, accessibility isn't just about compliance—it's a strategic design principle that delivers measurable business value. His journey through accessibility-led design shows how accessibility can improve user engagement and level the playing field for customers trying to access resources despite their backgrounds and considerations.

Devidas brings both certification and cross-industry experience to the table. After completing a formal certification in Visual Perception and Accessibility Design, he applied that knowledge to redesign apps for fintech, insurance, and pharmaceutical companies—projects that collectively reached millions. His efforts earned him internal recognition, including being named Employee of the Year in 2022 for championing accessible UX at an enterprise scale. 
One of Devidas's most impactful successes came from his work on a fintech app redesign, where accessibility was embedded from the start. By aligning with WCAG (Web Content Accessibility Guidelines) standards and prioritizing mobile-first, screen-reader-compatible components, he helped deliver a 35% increase in customer engagement. That focus carried through to other projects, including an insurance platform where accessibility-informed testing cycles boosted usability scores and improved conversion rates by 30% and enabled a 25% improvement in usability metrics.

His work didn't stop at external user interfaces. Devidas also drove improvements for internal users, enhancing enterprise dashboard usability by 35% across five platforms, directly impacting over 2,000 employees. Through user interviews with people who had visual, auditory, or motor impairments, he uncovered friction points that might otherwise have gone unnoticed. Removing those barriers made internal tools more approachable.
If we have to continue with numbers, conversion rates rose by 30% thanks to better contrast and more accessible CTA placements. Form error rates dropped by 40% after applying clearer input field designs. He conducted over 100 user interviews, including those with visual, auditory, and motor impairments, to understand the requirements and come up with these desired results.

Devidas has also been hands-on in multiple large-scale projects across the education, energy, and technology sectors, which include revamping school websites, solar data dashboards, building sales, investment, and corporate pitch decks and building the online presence of a tech startup which is considered as a catalyst for transformative progress across Defense, Space, Electronics, and Advanced Power. Each project carried its constraints, but his approach, centered around clarity and user empathy, produced usable and responsive experiences.

"One of the biggest challenges," Devidas explains, "was proving the business value of accessibility. The conversations changed once we started showing A/B test data with lower bounce rates and higher engagement."
Beyond formal engagements, Devidas have authored articles on accessibility, like the one in Medium, where he shares how small changes taking into consideration accessibility can drive user engagement. 

Devidas is also thinking about where accessibility is headed. "As AI, voice UIs, and VR continue to shape digital interfaces, accessibility has to be built-in, not patched in," he says. He predicts a future where design tools like Figma and Webflow will embed real-time accessibility checks and where inclusive microinteractions will evolve to support cognitive diversity, not just physical impairments.

Perhaps most notably, Devidas sees accessibility metrics becoming key performance indicators for design teams, not just compliance checks.

For Devidas, accessibility isn't a special feature—it's an essential one. And the results speak for themselves. As the digital world becomes more complex, he tells us, accessibility is not only about a moral imperative, but it often leads to better products and stronger engagements.