Blogpost with Recap

[Bovelett]

I've already received some lovely testimonials, and expect that more will roll in from the team. The ones I had I have partially integrated in the recap for the Hackathon site, but we will need a dedicated post on our site as well. PLEASE REMEMBER: once these have been copied into our blog post, remove the text here, so we don't get some double content issues.

Lumi: Being part of the CloudFest Hackathon Accessible Infographics project was a truly meaningful and fulfilling experience, supporting a tool with real potential to improve digital accessibility. I contributed by documenting our process and sharing progress updates on the Visua11y.org website and social media channels, helping make the project more visible, easier to understand, and more engaging for a wider audience. The experience aligned with my career path, connected me with other accessibility specialists, and deepened my commitment to creating a more inclusive web. A big thank you to the team leads for guiding us on this amazing journey!

Aaron:
Hier ist mein englischer recap. Er ist geht auch auf die Unzulänglichkeiten im Team ein die doch herausfordernd für mich waren, bzw, meine Aktionen auch beeinflusst haben. Vielleicht ist dieser Aspekt schon etwas zu detailliert. Hoffentlich hilft dir mein Beitrag bei deinem Artikel:

CloudFest Hackathon 2025: A Personal Recap

The CloudFest Hackathon 2025 was an exhilarating experience that pushed me out of my comfort zone and reminded me of my WordPress development skills. After a brief moment of uncertainty, I found my place in the Visua11y team, despite not having worked with WordPress for over a year.

Project Conception

Our team brainstormed several ideas for an accessibility-focused plugin:

1. Converting infographic images into interactive charts using a JavaScript library
2. Creating a prompt-based system for users to extract specific information from images
3. Describing infographics with alternative text and HTML markup, then converting it to core Gutenberg blocks

We ultimately chose the third option, which became the foundation of our project.

My Contributions

GitHub Setup: I took charge of setting up our GitHub repository, ensuring efficient collaboration among team members.
Initial Plugin Setup: I laid the groundwork for our plugin, creating a solid base for further development.
HTML to Gutenberg Conversion: One of my proudest achievements was figuring out how to convert HTML into Gutenberg blocks within our plugin.

Challenges and Growth

Initially, I planned to work on AI prompting because I could adapt this knowledge to other technologies beyond WordPress, since WordPress isn't the technology i use on a day to day basis anymore. However, the subteam’s dynamics proved challenging. The fast-paced conversations, combined with the noisy environment and my non-native English skills, left me feeling overwhelmed. Adapting to the situation, I switched to the front-end team focusing on Gutenberg development, where I felt more comfortable and productive.

Team Success

Despite the challenges, our team made remarkable progress in just three days. I’m particularly grateful to Jakob, whose efforts in streamlining the plugin were crucial in delivering a usable MVP by the end of the hackathon.
This experience not only rekindled my WordPress development skills but also taught me valuable lessons in teamwork and adaptability. It reminded me of the joy of collaborative coding and the satisfaction of creating something meaningful in a supportive and engaging hackathon environment.

Demo:
It was great to be part of a team that built something I could immediately use. I am impressed by how much progress the project made in just a few short days.