Accessibility Strategy Case Study

Reimagining 10,000 Cents for Everyone through the Impact of Universal Accessibility

Spring 2025

Written by:

Merlyn Koonamparampath

Project Summary

Ten Thousand Cents is a digital art project by Aaron Koblin and Takashi Kawashima. Cooper Hewitt sought to make the collection accessible to screenreader users, extending the experience beyond sighted audiences. With 10,000 tiny, cursor-based interactions and no visual descriptions, the work poses a major accessibility challenge that traditional alt-text can’t solve. The goal was to redesign an accessible version of the 10,000 Cents project that enables non-visual users to engage meaningfully with its content, while preserving the artistic intent and integrity of the original work.