NUX Leeds: Accessibility by Default: Why Checklists Don’t Scale
Schedule
Wed Apr 08 2026 at 06:00 pm to 08:00 pm
UTC+01:00Location
The Brew Society | Leeds, EN
About this Event
Summary
Accessibility is often treated as something to fix at the end of a project. Teams run contrast checks, add ARIA labels, and try to resolve issues just before release.
But modern digital products are far too complex for accessibility to be maintained this way.
In this talk, Max will explore why accessibility doesn’t scale through guidelines, it scales through systems. This is the perfect interlude talk in the month leading up to World Accessibility Day on May 21st 2026.
About our Speakers and Their Talks
🟢 Max Lavender - Lead Designer at Jet2
💬 Talk: Accessibility by Default: Why Checklists Don’t Scale Accessibility
➡️ Max will draw on his experience working with large product teams and cross-platform design systems at Jet2, and he’ll show how accessibility can be encoded into design tokens, reusable components, and product patterns so the accessible choice becomes the default.
Max will also share an emerging idea he’s been exploring: as design systems become more structured and machine-readable, they can begin to act as instructions not only for designers and developers, but also for tools and AI systems.
You’ll learn:
➡️ Why accessibility often fails when it is treated as a checklist
➡️ How design systems can encode accessible behaviour into components and patterns
➡️ How machine-readable design system specs could allow tools and AI to help maintain accessibility at scale
About Max Lavender:
I’m a Lead UX Designer at Jet2, specialising in large-scale product experiences and design systems.
At Jet2, I work on building systems that help teams design and deliver consistent experiences across multiple platforms. This includes defining design tokens, reusable component libraries and structured design system specifications that allow products to scale across web and native environments.
I’m particularly interested in how design systems can encode behaviour, accessibility and design decisions directly into reusable components, reducing complexity for teams while improving product quality.
More recently, I’ve been exploring how structured design system specifications and emerging AI tooling may influence the future of product design and development.
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About Speed Networking:
Join us for an exciting networking event designed to connect professionals from diverse industries.
Whether you're looking to exchange ideas, explore collaborations, or simply expand your professional circle, this is the perfect chance to meet like-minded individuals in a relaxed, engaging atmosphere.
Don’t miss out on the opportunity to make meaningful connections that could lead to your next big opportunity!
📍Glean
Brew Society / Hippo digital Leeds
Aireside House, 24-26 Aire St, Leeds LS1 4HT
Networking & Refreshments
After the talk, stay for a chance to network with fellow UX professionals while enjoying free pizza and drinks, kindly provided by our sponsors, Flutter and Ideasmiths LLP 🍕 🍻.
Our Sponsors
Ideasmiths
Ideasmiths are a diverse collective of individuals with extensive experience working on digital products. They're user researchers, interaction designers, strategists, and coaches who thrive working in multidisciplinary agile teams.
Hippo Digital
Hippo are a digital service consultancy, helping drive digital ambitions from concept to reality.
With a team of over 600 specialists, we deliver meaningful transformation by combining data-informed evidence, human-centred design and engineering to support organisations to scale digital delivery and upskill internal teams.
Tickets
🎫 This event is free to attend, but spaces are limited – secure your spot now!
We look forward to seeing you there! 🙌
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Where is it happening?
The Brew Society, 26 Aire Street, Leeds, United KingdomEvent Location & Nearby Stays:
USD 0.00
