Demo video accessibility

The working approach

Provide a text explanation of the demonstrated task.
Caption meaningful speech accurately.
Avoid making a colour change the only signal.

Provide another route to the meaning

Captions help with speech, but a software demo can also communicate crucial information through silent interface changes. Add a clear text summary of the demonstrated task on its watch page. Explain the starting conditions, the actions and the result. For a silent marketing edit, label this as a scene summary rather than presenting it as a transcript of speech that does not exist.

Inspect colour, motion and timing together. A status change should include a text label or another visible signal beyond colour alone. Rapid decorative movement can make reading harder, so reserve motion for attention and continuity. Review automatic captions manually for names and technical terms. If a viewer cannot access the video at all, the accompanying explanation should still convey the core workflow and provide a useful next step.

A concrete example

When a status changes, show the new text label as well as the colour and describe the result in the transcript.

Before recording this scenario, write down what the starting screen contains and what should be different at the end. This gives the reviewer an observable result to check, rather than asking them to approve a general impression.

The mistake to avoid

Automatic captions can misread product names and change the meaning of a step.

If the source cannot support the intended message, narrow the claim or capture the missing evidence. A transition, caption or voiceover can explain a real change; it should not manufacture one.

Put it into a production brief

Replace the bracketed fields before using this brief. The scenario is illustrative; keep only the actions your product actually supports.

EDITABLE PRODUCTION BRIEF

Purpose: Demo video accessibility.
Audience: [specify the viewer and their familiarity with the product].
Decision: [what should the viewer understand or do next?].
Approach: A demo should remain understandable when hearing, motion tolerance or visual acuity differs from the editor's. Build alternatives into the asset plan.

Required evidence:
1. Provide a text explanation of the demonstrated task. Show the relevant entry state, action and completed result.
2. Caption meaningful speech accurately. Show the relevant entry state, action and completed result.
3. Avoid making a colour change the only signal. Show the relevant entry state, action and completed result.

Reference scenario: When a status changes, show the new text label as well as the colour and describe the result in the transcript.
Avoid: Automatic captions can misread product names and change the meaning of a step.

Deliverable: [duration], [format], [placement].
Use only recorded product behaviour. Preserve the full original.
Acceptance: check each claim against its visible scene, review at actual viewing size, and test the final file.

Review before delivery

Evidence: can a new viewer identify the result described in the example without being told where to look?
Reading distance: are the relevant controls and labels understandable at the intended placement size?
Continuity: does each cut preserve the relationship between the action and its result?
Accuracy: does the final caption describe the visible product state, including any limits?

Using this with Demovela

The automatic URL workflow currently supports Postraid and Adfolio. Other product scenarios on this page are production-planning examples, not compatibility claims. Adapt the brief to your own recorder or editor. Demovela preserves originals and creates separate outputs; review the resulting file before publishing.

Check the current preview scope →

Keep the workflow moving

Choose the next resource based on the decision you still need to make.

Browse the complete resource library →