We audit your brand for accessibility so it reaches every audience it needs to reach.
Brand accessibility audits that make your identity work for everyone
We specialise in auditing brands for accessibility across every layer that matters, visual identity, verbal identity and digital application. The goal of a brand accessibility audit is to identify where the brand is quietly excluding audiences and what needs to change to fix it.
Brand accessibility is broader than digital accessibility. WCAG compliance on your website is essential, and covered separately. Brand accessibility asks a different question. Does the brand itself, logo, colour, typography, tone of voice, language complexity, application choices, work for the full range of audiences you need to reach?
This matters more than it used to. Regulatory pressure is increasing, the European Accessibility Act is a real deadline for many organisations. Audience expectations have shifted, inclusion is no longer a nice-to-have. And for mission-led organisations, an inaccessible brand is directly at odds with the mission.
We audit the brand as it stands, produce a prioritised report of what is working and what is not, and recommend the specific changes that would fix the issues. If the audit shows deeper work is needed, we can take the recommendations through to implementation, either as part of a brand refresh or through our dedicated accessibility services, which cover digital accessibility in depth. As a Registered Umbraco Gold Partner with in-house brand, UX and development capability, we can move from audit to fix without a handover.
Why can a well-designed brand still be inaccessible?
Because accessibility is not primarily a design competence, it is a research and testing competence. Brands get designed by people with typical vision, typical language ability, typical device and typical context, and they get signed off by people in the same category. The result is brands that look great in a design review and fail in a real user's hands.
The other cause is that accessibility is layered. A brand can pass visual contrast checks and still fail on cognitive accessibility. Or pass on the website and fail on print. Or work for one audience segment and quietly exclude another. Meaningful accessibility means looking at all the layers together rather than one at a time.
A brand accessibility audit that earns its place looks at the identity itself, how it is being applied, who it is being used with and where it is actually falling short. That is the difference between a compliance tick-box and a brand that genuinely reaches everyone it needs to.
Helping organisations reach every audience their brand needs to reach
We start with who your brand is actually meant to reach, what accessibility gaps exist today and what the real cost of those gaps is to your organisation. Then we work back to a prioritised set of recommendations you can act on.
We shape every brand accessibility audit engagement around:
Clear diagnostic of where the brand is failing accessibility - Not just compliance status, but real usability across audiences.
Layered assessment - Visual, verbal, digital and application layers reviewed together, not in isolation.
Prioritised, actionable recommendations - What to fix first, what can wait, what needs a bigger rethink.
Grounded in real accessibility standards - WCAG for digital, plain language principles for verbal, established contrast and legibility standards for visual.
Honest about what needs deeper work - Some accessibility issues are surface fixes, others need a refresh or rebuild. We will say which.
Practical support for implementation - The recommendations can stay recommendations, or we can help you deliver them.
The aim is a brand that reaches everyone it needs to reach, without needing anyone to work around it.
Our brand accessibility audit services
Brand accessibility audits vary in depth depending on what you already know, what you are preparing for and how the brand is being used. Our offering focuses on three shapes, and we will scope to your specific situation.
Full Brand Accessibility Audit
The complete assessment. Visual identity, verbal identity, digital application and physical application all reviewed against accessibility standards and real audience needs. Delivered as a prioritised report with clear recommendations and rationale. Suits organisations wanting a comprehensive baseline before a refresh, a launch or a compliance milestone.
Visual & Verbal Identity Accessibility Review
Focused audit of the brand identity itself, colour contrast, typography, iconography, logo variations, tone of voice, plain language and readability. Excludes the digital application layer for organisations whose digital accessibility is separately covered. Suits organisations preparing for a rebrand or wanting to understand the identity's accessibility in isolation.
Digital Brand Accessibility Audit
Focused audit of how the brand behaves online, website, digital assets, social content, email design and digital application. Sits alongside our wider accessibility services and can be scoped either as a standalone brand-specific review or as part of a broader digital accessibility engagement.
Industries we partner with
We work with charities, membership organisations, professional services firms, healthcare, public sector and mission-led brands, and B2B businesses in regulated sectors. The common thread is an organisation where reaching the full audience matters, whether for legal, mission or commercial reasons.
That spans mission-led organisations whose values demand an accessible brand, organisations preparing for European Accessibility Act deadlines, and brands whose audiences include people the design world routinely overlooks. Examples of our work in sectors where accessibility genuinely matters include:
Worldwide Cancer Research for a brand and digital platform built with global accessibility (WCAG AA) as a core requirement
Fight for Sight for a charity website design for a sight-loss charity, where accessibility sits at the heart of the mission
Royal Voluntary Service for a charity website for a national organisation with a wide, mixed-need audience
Demelza for a children's hospice charity website where reaching families in vulnerable circumstances matters at every touchpoint
If reaching every part of your audience is not optional, we have probably worked through the same shape of problem.
Delivering your brand application and collateral work
Audits are only useful if they are structured, prioritised and actionable. We deliver every brand accessibility audit as a clear diagnostic with a genuine path forward, not as a compliance document that ends up in a folder.
Discovery and scope - Understanding the brand, the audiences you need to reach and where you already suspect accessibility is falling short.
Layered assessment - Visual, verbal, digital and application layers reviewed against accessibility standards and real user needs.
Real-user testing where relevant - Assessments grounded in how real users experience the brand, not only in what the standards say.
Recommendations report - Prioritised findings with rationale, distinguishing quick fixes from deeper work.
Optional implementation support - We can hand over the report or take the recommendations through to implementation with you.
You end up with a clear view of what to fix, in what order and what it would take.
Brand accessibility audit credentials
Yoyo works regularly in sectors where accessibility is not a compliance line, it is the point. Our work for charities, mission-led organisations and public-facing brands has included accessible identity work delivered to WCAG AA, and we write regularly on the topic, including how to optimise your website for accessibility and the European Accessibility Act and what it means for you.
If the audit reveals digital accessibility issues that need dedicated work, our accessibility services cover digital accessibility in depth. And as a Registered Umbraco Gold Partner with in-house design and development capability, we can take the recommendations through to implementation with the same team.
Why choose Yoyo for brand accessibility audits?
Yoyo brings brand craft, digital delivery capability and genuine accessibility experience together. That combination matters because most brand accessibility audits are done by either brand people who lack the accessibility rigour or accessibility people who lack the brand judgement. We are honestly comfortable in both.
We have a track record of award-winning work across charity, membership, public sector and mission-led brands. Whether you need a full brand accessibility audit, a focused visual and verbal review or a digital brand assessment, we can shape the engagement around your actual situation.
If you would like to talk through what a brand accessibility audit with Yoyo could look like, get in touch.
FAQs
What is brand accessibility and how is it different from digital accessibility?
Digital accessibility asks whether your website and digital products are usable for people with disabilities, measured against WCAG. Brand accessibility asks a broader question, whether the brand itself, the identity, the language, the application choices, works for the full range of audiences you need to reach across every touchpoint. Many organisations need both. Our dedicated accessibility services cover digital accessibility in depth.
Do we legally need a brand accessibility audit?
There is no legal requirement for a brand accessibility audit specifically, but regulatory pressure on digital accessibility is increasing sharply, including through the European Accessibility Act. If your brand and digital touchpoints are inaccessible, you are exposed. A brand accessibility audit is a practical way to understand where the risks and gaps actually sit before compliance becomes urgent.
What accessibility standards do you audit against?
WCAG for digital, established colour contrast and legibility standards for visual, and plain language principles for verbal identity. We also assess against real audience needs beyond the standards, because standards are the floor rather than the ceiling.
Do you audit brands you didn't design?
Yes. Most brand accessibility audit work is on brands designed elsewhere. We treat the audit as its own discipline, understanding the intent behind the identity before assessing where it is or is not working accessibly.
How long does a brand accessibility audit take?
Most audits run between two and six weeks depending on the depth of scope and the size of the brand estate being reviewed. Focused reviews can move faster. Larger brands with multiple sub-brands and extensive application take longer. We agree scope and timing after an initial conversation.
What happens if the audit reveals we need to refresh or rebuild?
We will say so clearly. Where the accessibility issues are surface-level, we recommend fixes that keep the brand intact. Where they are structural, we will be honest that a brand refresh or modernisation, or in some cases a full brand identity rebuild, is what your situation actually calls for. The audit is where that decision gets made honestly.
Do you help implement the recommendations?
Yes, where useful. You can stop at the audit and hand the recommendations to an internal team, or take them through to implementation with us. Both models work, and we will help you decide which is right for your situation rather than defaulting to the bigger scope.
How is this different from your accessibility service?
Our accessibility service covers digital accessibility in depth, focused on websites and digital products meeting WCAG and beyond. Brand accessibility audits are wider in scope. They cover the identity and application across every touchpoint, not just the digital layer. Many organisations end up needing both, and we can run them together or separately.
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