Introducing Dara by Contentsquare - Roll out starts june 2023

The Dara launch and roll out starts from June 2023.

This launch and roll out is the start of our mission to create an accessible platform. It won’t be fully accessible from these first changes because this is a process that will take time. We’ll continuously add changes. These changes will be tested and improved at every stage as we always strive to learn and grow.

We’d love you to experience the start of this journey with us! You’ll see the biggest changes over the first couple of weeks as we roll out our first batch of updates.

If you’re in the Platform during this time you’ll see how Contentsquare is evolving (it could be like watching a flower bloom!).

Colors, contrast, HTML structure, more accessible components (7 in batch 1).

*Colors are now compliant with WCAG 2.1
*Contrast is increased
*HTML structure has evolved to provide better foundation
*Some interface components (7) are more accessible for assistive technologies; for example screen readers, braille keyboards…

Absolutely nothing is needed from you. Sit back, continue to use Contentsquare, and enjoy.

Everything you love about the platform will work just the same, but as we roll out the changes in batches over time we hope you start to get a relaxed “oh, that’s better/easier/more intuitive” feeling when, and however, you experience them.

It never ends! Making sure our platform is well designed and accessible is a constant, gradual and evolving process.

But to be a little more specific: it will take us many months to progressively update all our basic elements, then we’ll focus on each product to make them all as accessible as possible. Of course as we are doing this for you we also want your feedback, so please don’t hesitate to tell us what you think.

We are only making changes to the way the platform looks. This does not impact your data. Your data, mappings, and everything else you have spent time setting up will not be affected by the updates.

No, we’ll only tell you what we hope will be interesting for you.

We’ll be sure to group our notifications and include these within the Contentsquare updates you already receive (but probably not every month as we rigorously test our updates internally first).

Please do contact us with questions or concerns if you want to learn more.

Here’s the W3C (World Wide Web Consortium) definition:

“Web accessibility means that websites, tools and technologies are designed and developed so that people with disabilities can use them. More specifically people can:
→ perceive, understand, navigate, and interact with the Web,
→ contribute to the Web ”

Accessibility is important because when our platform is accessible it will benefit everyone.

It will help people with a disability who are using our platform. While you may not have specific accessibility needs, keep in mind that one of your colleagues may have a hidden disability so our improvements will indirectly help your team and company.

Also, a redesign with accessibility at the core often requires a more minimalist approach and a requirement to really guide the user through their online experience.

So, improved accessibility = improved design = improved usability FOR ALL.

Some facts and stats about accessibility:

*a11y = accessibility.
*15% of the world population (that’s 1 BILLION PEOPLE) hav *It can be temporary: accident, maternity, aging population.
*We all know people who struggle with digital interfaces.
*It’s also a market with lots of opportunities.
*Legal cases can be brought against companies who don’t make an effort to comply with website accessibility laws.

As Contentsquare is trying to be more human it makes sense to make sure we have the whole of humanity covered, which naturally includes people with disabilities.

Of course we want to comply with WCAG 2.1

And as we are providing products and services that help improve the accessibility of our clients websites we must lead by example.

Also, our clients are asking us to be accessible.

With Dara, Contentquare is now much more accessible than before and we’re going to keep on working on it.

Accessibility is our aim and we’re following the WCAG 2.1 (and even 2.2) recommendations. But accessibility is not like an on-off switch, it’s more like a gradual slider. Making a website accessible is a continuous process. These first changes through Dara are just the beginning of our journey towards an accessible platform.

And we’re not just doing this as a tick box exercise for the law, we want to really do this properly.

We prioritize user experience by considering the whole range of our users’ needs. We’ll be testing thoroughly with our users to make sure we are getting this right.

A design system is a bit like a big box of UI lego pieces (reusable components, patterns, styles, objects and flows), with clear standards, rules and guidelines, that can be assembled in near infinite ways to build digital products. A design system is implemented in design and code.

So we can:
*Design faster
*Develop faster
*Quality check faster
*Improve our interface usability and accessibility
*Scale our design
*Manage our design debt
*Accelerate onboarding

and YOU get improved, consistent, and accessibility checked products.

A win-win for us all!

Dara is Contentsquare’s new design system - launched June 2023.

Contentsquare underwent a huge and exciting rebranding in 2022. Dara, is our new design system, which represents the Platform stage of this rebrand, so that everything is consistent (and consistently awesome).

We’re creating Dara to bring you the most human UI we possibly can. And by “you” we mean everyone reading this, whatever your individual needs or challenges are.

Accessibility and inclusion are the huge drivers for all of our updates and improvements. This isn't a one hit wonder, it’s a continuous process that we’re just starting and we’ll be constantly striving to improve accessibility over time too.

We wanted a human name, and it stands for *Design Around Real Accessibility*

Our new design system is human-first so we chose a unisex human name that’s short and memorable… because Contentsquare is trying to make the digital world more human! The letters of Dara stand for: *Design Around Real Accessibility*.

Dara is our human-first design system. Dara provides a common language to design, develop and evolve efficiently. Built from scratch with accessibility experts and ready to use. Dara answers real needs with practical and attractive solutions. Finding the balance between simplicity and complexity. Dara prioritizes accessible function over aesthetics to provide better design for all.

*Dara embodies the energy of Contentsquare: "Where there's a will, there's a way".
*Dara brings humanity into design interactions and decisions. *Dara "gets it" by being empathetic to the needs of all.
*Dara is young, and will grow and evolve.
*Dara is resilient and open minded.
*Dara is friendly and approachable and so is easy to use.

Got more questions or feedback? We'd love to hear from you: here