The studio
We build for the people big software forgets.
TauDesignWorks is an independent software design and development studio in Gig Harbor, Washington. We make voice-first tools for blind and low-vision people — and we build them to a standard the whole industry ought to meet.
Why we exist
Most software is designed to be looked at. For millions of people that assumption quietly closes the door — the interface is technically "accessible," but using it is slow, tense, and joyless. We started TauDesignWorks to build the other kind of software: tools you operate by speaking and listening, where sight is optional, not required — and, where the problem is light itself, tools that reshape the screen.
We design for blind and low-vision people first. That constraint isn't a limitation — it's a clarifying force. When a product has to work with your eyes closed, everything vague gets cut. What's left is calmer and clearer for everyone.
How we work
We're small and self-directed, which lets us hold a high bar without committee. A few principles govern every project:
- Voice is the interface, not a feature. If a task can't be done by speaking and listening, it isn't finished. Every gesture has a spoken twin.
- We test on real hardware with real assistive tech. VoiceOver, Dynamic Type at its largest, reduced motion, forced colors — on the actual device, not just the simulator.
- Privacy is architecture, not a policy page. We process on-device wherever we can, fire the camera only when asked, and don't keep your images or audio on a server.
- Empowering, never clinical. Our apps should feel like a capable friend. Warm, direct, and never condescending — nothing that reads as medical equipment.
- Accessibility is the brief. WCAG AAA contrast, full keyboard operation, semantic structure. Verified, not assumed — including the marketing site you're reading now.
Built with Claude
Our apps reason about the world using Anthropic's Claude models — describing a scene, making sense of a document, working out what a piece of mail actually needs from you. The intelligence is only half the job; the other half is turning it into a short, spoken answer you can trust and interrupt. That seam is where we spend our care.
This site, too
Accessibility statement
A studio whose products are for blind and low-vision people has to hold its own website to the same standard, or it fails the people it's for. This site is built to that bar:
- AAA contrast, both themes. Body text meets a WCAG contrast ratio of at least 7:1 in light and dark. Color never carries meaning on its own.
- Fully keyboard operable. Every control is reachable in a logical order, with an always-visible focus ring that we never remove.
- Reduced motion respected. Turn on "reduce motion" and animations stop; the voice demos reveal their full text instantly.
- Set in Atkinson Hyperlegible. The body typeface was designed by the Braille Institute to be easier to read for low-vision eyes. Text stays legible zoomed to 200%.
- Semantic and landmarked. Real headings, lists, and regions mean a screen reader can navigate by structure.
- Windows High Contrast friendly. Borders and meaning survive forced-colors mode.
Found something that doesn't work for you? That's a bug, and we want to know. Email tau@taudesignworks.com and we'll fix it.
Say hello
Let's talk
Early access, partnership, press, or a question about accessibility — the studio reads every note.