Ahmed Khalifa

11/08/2025

I completely underestimated the power of nostalgia.

Last week, my wife and I managed to get last minute tickets to see Oasis at Murrayfield Stadium in Edinburgh. And it was supported by Richard Ashcroft (from The Verve). Hello 90s nostalgia!

Bittersweet Symphony was like a warm up to those teenage feelings (and you’ll see that in the video below). And then the main act come on stage and the many classic tunes really resurrected emotions.

I was instantly transported back to my teenage bedroom, learning how to play the guitar and practicing playing “Roll With It”, “Live Forever” and “Wonderwall”. Even during the university days, I had many late nights which ended with a group rendition of Oasis in the student accommodation.

Similar emotions were felt when we both went to see Stereophonics (we’ve done that a few times). I was thinking back on how I was trying to perfect "I Wouldn't Believe Your Radio" on the guitar.

There's something profoundly powerful about nostalgia. It's not just remembering, it's feeling every emotion, every memory, every moment as vividly as if it were happening right now. The butterflies in your stomach before your first date. The pride of passing your driving test. The nerve-wracking excitement of your first job interview.

These aren't just memories; they're part of our emotional DNA. It gets put aside, almost hidden away, until something resurrects it. In this case, it was an Oasis gig.

Today, while rushing to embrace AI and automation, we sometimes forget that these deeply human experiences can't be replicated by algorithms or manufactured in a boardroom. AI can analyse patterns, predict behaviours, support your work, create new tools, etc. All powerful stuff…heck, I use it daily.

But it can't feel the goosebumps when 'that song' comes on, or understand why certain food smells instantly remind you of your gran’s kitchen.

That's the beautiful complexity of human experience: it’s raw, authentic, and gloriously unpredictable.

In my work with brands and businesses, this reminder hits home: the most powerful connections we make are rooted in genuine human experiences and emotions. Not in algorithms.

Sure, use technology. They are there to help us. But remember they are not there to replace human emotions. They can’t do that.

I’d love to hear what song, smell or taste takes you way back.

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Video alt: selfie video of Ahmed, a black man wearing blue glasses, at a seat surrounded by tens of thousands of music fans. He eventually turns the camera to show the standing fans in front of a stage, where Richard Ashcroft is playing Bittersweet Sweet Symphony. Ahmed is smiling and nodding his head to the tune.

24/07/2025

I've noticed that Goodreads has launched a new logo. Normally a rebrand creates a lot of discussions and also pushbacks from loyal fans and design professionals.

I am neither but I do have a thought on two things that they claim on their official blog:
- "...optimized for accessibility so it looks clear and sharp no matter where you see it..."
- "The lowercase "g" incorporates a magnifying glass over an open book..."

For their first claim...I would say perhaps. The combination of a bolder font and their use of font type may help to make it more accessible on various platforms and mediums used to promote it. I say "perhaps" because I don't have any disability relating to blindness or dyslexia so I can't officially test and confirm it.

But the second claim is...interesting. Whenever there is a new logo, I play a game with myself and work out what is it. On this situation, I had to look at it really hard to try to work out what is it supposed to be. I then gave up and pretended to be a student cheating on my exams and look for the answer.

A magnifying glass over an open book?

Hmm, I didn't see that. My first instinct is a person on their knee bowing and praying in a monk-like manner.

I can appreciate once you know, you know. But even with the answer, I still had to really look hard to find the magnifying glass and open book. It's kind of there.

But is everyone going to read their blog post about their reasoning for a new logo and their definition of their lower case 'g'? Unless you have an interest in this like I do, I doubt it.

So I find their two points about accessibility and lower case 'g' contradicts each other.

What do you think?

14/07/2025

The irony hits hard: I speak about accessibility on stage, then struggle to network afterwards due to the very barriers I just presented about.

Standing ovations for inclusive design talks, but can't join the post-event drinks because the noise makes conversations impossible...it's a bit of an oxymoron, but a common one for me.

Many conference organisers that I work with often try to find a solution but there needs to be a wider discussion across the whole industry.

Conference attending and networking promises feel hollow when you're calculating energy costs for every interaction, wondering if you'll catch what someone's saying over the background chatter.

And it's not just me: many of us face this paradox. We want to connect, learn, and grow, but the one-size-fits-all networking format excludes more people than it includes.

I believe it's time to rethink how we design professional gatherings. Small changes like quiet networking spaces, better acoustics, and flexible formats can transform conferences for everyone.

Because truly inclusive events don't just talk about accessibility - they live it.

Read more about how conferences can be challenges for me and how we can reimagine conference networking that benefits attendees, speakers and organisers: https://www.iamahmedkhalifa.com/conference-paradox/

As an accessibility expert, I face a frustrating irony: speaking about inclusion on stage, then struggling to network due to the very barriers I just presented about. Here's how we can fix conference networking for everyone.

04/07/2025

One of my favourite Netflix series is Somebody Feed Phil - Netflix Original, which is fronted by one of my favourite online personalities, Phil Rosenthal. He's not to everyone's taste, but to me he's hilarious and seems like great fun to spend the day with...provided food was involved.

It also looks like he has one of the best job in the world.

It combines everything that I love within the world of travel, culture and food. Whenever I go abroad at any time, I make a big conscious effort to make sure that I eat something local or something I've never tried before.

If it's a combination of the two, even better.

Back to the show; the other reason why I love it is that I know I can trust Netflix and their captioning abilities. Not only is it accurate but there is a deliberate effort to make more than just accurate without going too overboard.

Case in point in the image attached: while Phil was narrating about his experience to the camera, he attempted to pronounce a German word, only it came out in an unpolished non-German way.

So he tried to pronounce it properly but failed and it was full of gibberish.

It could have been easy for the caption to read [attempting to speak German]. Instead, it was written as [speaks German-flavored gibberish].

🤌🏽

It's that little something, an extra flavour (no pun intended) that makes it all the more delicious.

P.S. Dear Phil, sorry for the capturing you in the most unflattering moment. I'll buy you dinner as a form of apology 😏

30/06/2025

One thing I'm used to seeing for accessibility specialists is the struggle with compliance tracking across multiple projects. Accessibility is hard enough as it, so why isn't there a solution?

I'm exploring building a solution and would love 15-30 minutes conversations with accessibility professionals, consultants, or agencies to understand their current pain points and how to solve them.

I'd love to be able to pay for your time but I'm not in a position to do so. However, I'd like to offer discounted lifetime access when I launch, early access and input on features.

Comment or DM if this resonates with your experience and you are willing to give me your time.

If that doesn't apply to you, would also appreciate a like/share to spread this 🙏🏽

24/06/2025

It's not often I speak at an event where there is a sense of belonging amongst the attendees. That's what happened when I spoke at a recent Muslim Tech Fest .

You can see and feel it, when people are comfortable with each other, knowing that we are all in it together and have just as much right as anyone else in the tech industry to make a positive impact within the community and the wider world.

I still had my challenges where it's so noisy, I wasn't able to keep up with conversations or attend as much talks as I wanted to. But when I did, it was a blessing.

There are so many people to thank, whether it's online, stopping me to thank me for the talk in the hallway or even for a quick hello. Thank you all!

A huge thanks goes to the co-organisers inviting me to speak at the event and to allow to talk about the importance and power of accessibility in the online world. It's always refreshing to see organisers wanting to make sure that the topic of accessibility is amongst their agenda. The wider organising team also deserves special praise for ensuring the event is running smoothly.

I hope to attend again in the future and seeing the magic unfold again.

14/06/2025

One week today (on 21st June 2025) is Muslim Tech Fest , and if you haven't gotten your ticket, you can get one now using the following discount code:

Ahmed

Oh, how is my first name used as a discount code? Because I'm lucky enough to be speaking at the event about a topic that I'm passionate about: video accessibility and captions. And judging by the conversations I'm having, it promises to be a brilliant event.

Even though the likes of auto-captions has been around long time (in fact, Google has first announced it in a 'blogspot' way back in 2006, which you can access in the comment), you'd think that it would have gotten better and it's "perfect".

But a 2025 report (available to read in the comment) on the state of Automatic Speech Recognition software by 3Play Media has shown that even though "the technology has made remarkable strides, we’re witnessing an increasing plateau in accuracy improvements for English pre-recorded content". As such, "human review remains essential for meeting accessibility standards".

Otherwise, it can get ugly...very ugly, as I will demonstrate at the event. 🫣

You can get your ticket here: https://muslimtechfest.com/tickets/

I hope to see you there.

12/06/2025

All this talk about Apple's "Liquid Glass" has caused a lot of debate which I don't need to repeat. But one discussion I'm not seeing people talk about is how it will also clash with the ongoing trend of logos and icons having that sameness feel across the board.

Academic research demonstrates that app icon similarity creates measurable negative impacts on user performance. Studies consistently show 30-50% increases in search time when users encounter visually similar icons.

The same research has also shown that cognitive load imposed by similar icons and logos forces users to rely on text labels rather than visual recognition, which the defeats the purpose of what a well-designed icon and logo should provide. (link to research: https://cognitiveresearchjournal.springeropen.com/articles/10.1186/s41235-018-0133-4)

And now we add "liquid glass" on top of that, wouldn't that create more frictions, more cognitive load, and reduces fluid interaction? For both icons (like Home, Photo, Messaging, etc.) and brand logos?

For the logos, think about how specific app categories show similar patterns (and all for a reason):
- Ride-sharing apps universally adopt circular or curved elements suggesting movement
- Food delivery platforms gravitate toward warm colours (reds, oranges) and geometric shapes suggesting speed
- Social media apps converge on simplified communication symbols and bright, attention-grabbing colours

So many logos and icons already look similar. Think Message vs WhatsApp. Pepsi vs Korean Air (Google it). And don't even get me started about the various Google logos. Years after it was first introduced, it's still baffling users (link to article: https://www.creativebloq.com/news/google-logos).

This scenario can affect everyone. And if Apple sets the trend, it further highlights the need to carry out comprehensive testing (e.g. time-to-locate, A/B, accessibility). in order to create that distinctive visual design which is essential for optimal user experience on mobile.

And this is regardless of whether you have an accessibility requirement or not.

Users of mobile touch devices are often confronted with a great number of apps, challenging an efficient access to single applications. Especially when looking for infrequently used apps, users have to perform a visual search. We address this problem in two studies by applying knowledge about visual...

10/06/2025

What do you do if you get invited by a software company, which you have been a customer of for a decade, to do a talk about accessibility? Make sure you put in the effort to do the best you can for FreeAgent.

Known as one of the biggest accounting software around, I was fortunate to be one of the very few external speakers to attend an internal , a day full of learning and development for the staff.

And it included makeup, fake tattoos, food, and entertainment! So count me in.

I particularly love that they are local to me in Edinburgh. It shows the city has plenty to offer within the tech scene, and as a customer, I am happy to pay what it's worth.

The talk is about what I’m passionate about: accessibility, particularly about video accessibility and the importance of captions.

It was fun to be part of it and the attendees are a lovely bunch. I get all mushy inside when companies take accessibility seriously and are putting in the effort to do something about it. It makes me feel seen. Their dedication to accessibility isn't just about ticking boxes; it's about recognising that every user deserves equal access to their services, and as a long-term customer, I can attest to the value this brings. But seeing it internally while speaking to the relevant people, it is even more impactful. There is more to be done, but the efforts are clearly there and in my eyes, progress is more important than perfection.

And they are progressing.

Special thanks go to Carme Mias for recommending me to speak at the event.

01/05/2025

I first noticed the Muslim Tech Fest community last year and was really impressed by their sense of unity, drive and ambitions. Now, I have the honour of speaking at their event in London on 21st June 2025 about digital accessibility.

This is a unique chance for me to witness a remarkable group of people gather to share their expertise in technology while being part of a community that is filled with incredibly smart speakers, attendees, brands and even investors.

I have been engaging with them online and from a distance, but I am thrilled to finally meet them in person as there's something special about that group.

You can also be part of this experience by joining the event.

The Early Bird ticket sales end at midnight this Monday, 5th May 2025. If you want to attend, make sure to secure your ticket soon here: https://muslimtechfest.com/london-2025/

If you are going, I am looking forward to meeting you there.

25/04/2025

It’s official. The FTC (the US Federal Trade Commission) has approved a final consent order against the accessibility overlay company accessiBe with a fine of $1M, which will potentially be used pay off clients who have being misled by deceptive claims that their products make websites accessible.

Why should you care?

These companies spend millions to claim the absolute opposite. With their flashy campaigns and clever wordings, they present their tool as an all-in-one solution to fix your accessibility woes. They tend to have huge marketing budget, which they do an excellent job of persuading non-experts that their product will make your sites accessible.

But this ruling confirms what accessibility experts have been saying all along: There are no quick fixes or magical solutions for digital accessibility.

Imagine this: You're offered a widget that claims to solve all your website's accessibility problems instantly. Just install it, and p**f, your site becomes fully accessible to everyone. Sounds perfect, right? And so quick and cheap too.

Here's the reality check. These overlay tools often:
- Interfere with assistive technologies
- Create new barriers for disabled users
- Fail to address fundamental accessibility issues
- Give false confidence about compliance
- Forces you to commit to indefinite subscription costs…without the solutions

Think about it like this: Would you build a physical store without proper ramps or doorways, then try to "fix" it by having someone stand outside offering to carry people in? That's essentially what overlays try to do in the digital space.

And the big irony? Every single overlay company now has a manual accessibility auditing practice. If overlays did what they claimed to do, why would this be needed? 🤔

I’ve already got a post about the problems with accessibility overlays and why they should be avoided, which you can access in the comment.

Remember, if someone tries to sell you an instant accessibility solution, remember this FTC case. And more importantly, remember this will affect real people.

Looking to make your digital presence truly accessible? Drop a comment below or DM me for guidance on genuine accessibility solutions.

15/04/2025

There is growing trend of vendors promising your products complete accessibility, which means it will be accessible to everyone (*cough* like accessibility overlays).

But 100% accessibility is a myth. Here is why it’s impossible and what you should aim for instead:

Learn why achieving 100% accessibility is a myth and why practical strategies for continuous improvement and realistic accessibility goals is better.