Stark: Accessibility Testing for Design Tools

Stark is an accessibility plugin that lives inside Figma, Sketch, and Adobe XD, catching accessibility issues while you design. Instead of discovering contrast problems during QA or after launch, Stark flags them in your mockups. It checks color ratios against WCAG standards, simulates how designs look to people with color blindness, suggests alt text for images, and verifies keyboard focus order. The goal is to shift accessibility left in the design process, fixing issues before they reach code.

Key Specs

How Designers Use Stark

Stark adapts to different stages of the design process, from early explorations to developer handoff.

For Color Contrast Checking

Select any text or UI element and Stark shows its contrast ratio against the background. It tells you whether it passes WCAG AA or AAA standards and suggests color adjustments if it fails. Use the live contrast checker while designing to avoid creating inaccessible color combinations. Stark checks all states: default, hover, disabled, and error.

For Vision Simulation

Apply color blindness filters to your entire design to see how it looks with protanopia (red-blind), deuteranopia (green-blind), tritanopia (blue-blind), and other vision types. This reveals when color is the only way to distinguish elements. If your error states rely purely on red text, simulation shows that some users won’t see the difference. Use this to add icons, patterns, or labels as redundant cues.

For Alt Text Suggestions

Stark analyzes images and suggests alt text descriptions using AI. Review and edit suggestions before adding them to your design specs. This trains you to think about alt text during design, not as an afterthought during development. Include alt text in design handoff documents or Figma comments.

For Focus Order Verification

Define the keyboard focus order for interactive elements. Stark highlights the tab sequence and flags when the visual order doesn’t match the DOM order. This catches issues where modals, dropdowns, or complex layouts confuse keyboard users. Set focus order in mockups so developers implement it correctly.

Stark vs. Alternatives

How does Stark compare to other accessibility testing tools?

Choose Stark if: You want accessibility checks integrated into your design workflow, catching issues before code.

Choose Contrast if: You’re a Mac user who needs a simple, standalone color contrast checker without plugins.

Choose axe DevTools if: You’re a developer testing implemented code, not design mockups.

Choose manual checks if: You’re learning accessibility fundamentals or need to verify Stark’s suggestions.

Getting Started with Stark

A 10-minute quick start to checking your first design:

Step 1: Install the plugin

In Figma, go to Plugins > Browse all plugins > search “Stark” > Install. In Sketch or XD, download from the Stark website. Create a free account. The plugin syncs across all your design tools.

Step 2: Run a contrast check

Select a text layer or button. Open Stark (Plugins > Stark or Cmd/Ctrl + E). The plugin shows the contrast ratio and whether it passes WCAG AA/AAA. If it fails, adjust the color until the ratio is 4.5:1 or higher for normal text, 3:1 for large text.

Step 3: Simulate vision types

Click “Vision Simulator” in Stark’s toolbar. Choose a vision type (protanopia, deuteranopia, etc.). Your entire canvas updates to show how it looks. Toggle between vision types to verify color isn’t the only differentiator. Add icons or labels where color alone conveys meaning.

Stark in Your Design Workflow

Stark integrates with design, development, and QA processes.

• Early design: Use vision simulator during sketching to choose accessible color palettes
• Design phase: Run contrast checks on all text and UI elements before finalizing mockups
• Handoff: Generate Stark accessibility reports and include them with design specs
• Development: Developers use Stark browser extension to verify implementation
• QA: Combine Stark checks with screen reader testing and keyboard navigation

Common tool pairings:

• Stark + Figma for real-time accessibility feedback while designing UI
• Stark + Color Oracle for additional color blindness simulation validation
• Stark + axe DevTools to catch design-time issues (Stark) and code-time issues (axe)
• Stark + WAVE for comprehensive website accessibility audits

Common Problems (and How to Fix Them)

“Stark says my contrast passes, but it looks hard to read”

WCAG minimums (4.5:1 for normal text) are legal thresholds, not ideal targets. Aim for higher ratios when possible, especially for body text. Consider text size, font weight, and background complexity. Stark shows the ratio; you decide if it’s good enough in context.

“Color blindness simulation shows my design is fine, but I got user complaints”

Stark simulates the most common vision types, but not all visual impairments. Low vision, cataracts, and screen glare aren’t covered. Test on actual devices in different lighting. Use UserTesting or similar services to get feedback from people with disabilities.

“I’m overwhelmed by all the accessibility issues Stark found”

Prioritize. Start with contrast issues (highest impact, easiest fix) and color-only indicators (like error states). Then move to alt text and focus order. You don’t need to fix everything at once. Build accessibility into your process so issues don’t accumulate.

“My client doesn’t care about accessibility”

Frame it as risk reduction and market expansion. Inaccessible products face lawsuits (especially in ecommerce and government). Fixing issues early is cheaper than retrofitting. Plus, 15% of the world has some disability. Accessible design reaches more people.

“Stark conflicts with my color palette”

Accessibility sometimes requires compromise. If brand colors fail contrast, use them for accents, not text. Darken or lighten shades until they pass. Create an accessible version of the palette for UI elements. Document why certain colors work where.