Accessibility.
Akashic is a reference that should be usable by everyone, including people who navigate with a keyboard, a screen reader, or other assistive technology. We build to the WCAG 2.1 Level AA standard and treat accessibility as part of craft, not an afterthought.
Last updated: June 24, 2026.
What we do
- Semantic structure — real headings, landmarks, lists, and a “skip to content” link on every page.
- Keyboard navigable — the search combobox, menus, maps, and every interactive control work without a mouse, with visible focus.
- Color & contrast — the palette is chosen for AA contrast, and meaning is never carried by color alone (margins also show numbers and labels).
- Charts have a text equivalent — every chart and choropleth is paired with the same figures in an accessible data table, so the data is never locked inside a picture.
- Tested in CI — an automated accessibility check (axe via Lighthouse) gates every deploy at a high bar, alongside an end-to-end accessibility test suite.
Known limitations
Some content is inherently visual — interactive precinct maps and the national map explorer. We provide the underlying numbers as tables and descriptive text wherever possible, but the richest experience of those features is visual. We’re continuing to improve non-visual equivalents. If a specific page or feature is hard to use, please tell us — real reports are the fastest path to a fix.
Reporting a barrier
If you hit an accessibility barrier on Akashic, email hello@akashic.app with the page URL and a short description of the problem and the assistive technology you were using. We aim to respond promptly and to fix confirmed issues quickly. See also our about page and terms.