About Me
Basics
I’m Laura Kalbag, a designer and British person, now living in Kilkenny, Ireland. I wrote a book about web accessibility called Accessibility For Everyone. You can buy it in paperback or ebook from A Book Apart.
The latest selfie of me from my Photos.
I’m co-founder of Small Technology Foundation, a tiny two-person-and-one-husky not-for-profit working for social justice in the digital age (previously known as Ind.ie). At Small Technology Foundation, we work towards building a more rights-respecting web.
Since July 2021, I’ve also been working on developer and designer relations for Stately.
If you’re looking for a quick bio or headshot, I have a bio page with many different formats.
How do I pronounce Kalbag?
My surname is Kalbag. It is pronounced cal as in calories, and bag as in… bag. It’s an uncommon Indian name pronounced in a very British way.
My pronouns
My pronouns are she/her.
I am a designer
As part of tiny teams, I’ve done a lot under the title of designer. Aral and I have worked together on the holistic design of Small Technology Foundation. I’ve worked on everything from graphic design to web development while learning how to run a sustainable not-for-profit organisation.
My work means I’m always striving to make privacy and broader ethics in technology accessible to a wide audience. You can typically find me making design decisions, writing CSS, nudging icon pixels, or distilling a privacy policy into something humans can understand. Sometimes, I speak at conferences and write articles, too.
Principles
Honest, sustainable, and independent design is important to me. I believe the web should be owned and controlled by the people who use it, and we who create technology should do so ethically and responsibly. I like small tech, not big tech.
I also speak and write regularly about the importance of accessibility and inclusivity in the web and tech communities. I first became interested in the web because I loved how it made information and shared experiences available to (almost) everybody. I want to work for a web that is equally accessible to all people, and respects their rights.