Antonino, Digital Accessibility Tester at Gucci

From music to accessibility

Antonino’s journey is unique: it combines his love for music with his technological expertise and passion for accessibility. After graduating from the Conservatory of Reggio Calabria, Italy, having specialized in both piano and musical composition, he embarked on a successful career as a music teacher. But alongside music, computer science became a passion, namely building websites and coming to understand the importance of digital accessibility.  

Accessibility resonates personally for Antonino because he is partially sighted. “At university, I had to actively find different ways to study, because I couldn’t see the blackboards. This pushed me to explore the different technological solutions that could make learning more accessible.”

In 2021, after years of teaching and consulting in the field of digital accessibility, an unexpected opportunity presented itself. A friend working in recruitment brought to his attention an open position at Gucci. “At first, I was hesitant: I’d been teaching music for years and never worked for a big company. But I decided to take the leap and try something new.”

Antonino was hired as an Accessibility Tester, responsible for testing accessibility internally for digital development teams. However, he quickly realized that his work went beyond simply testing. “My role expanded: I now oversee all accessibility workflows, collaborating with developers, designers and legal teams to ensure that our digital tools and products meet current accessibility standards.”

Since January 2025, Antonino has worked within the Digital Delivery & Quality Assurance team, working together with multiple departments across the company. “My work is very varied: I alternate between individual tasks, like manual and automatic testing, to meeting with different teams who want to improve their digital user experience.”

One of his main goals is to further promote a culture of accessibility within the company. Once a month, he hosts sessions, open to all colleagues, to raise awareness on the topic. “Accessibility means that everyone, regardless of their capacities, can use and take full advantage of our digital products. It’s not just about complying with regulations – it's about true inclusion.”

A key aspect of his role is debunking the myth that accessibility is a niche topic, or only relevant to people with disabilities. “Visual impairments aren’t a prerequisite to work in accessibility. The real challenge lies in making accessibility a common consideration in our work lives, integrated into development and design processes from the very beginning. A single user pointing out a problem isn’t enough: structured and professional processes need to be put into place.”

Antonino highlights that a common mistake companies make is treating accessibility as a final add-on, rather than as an essential component of the design. “Many think that they can build a website first and make it accessible later, but that’s like building a house and only after it’s completed trying to insulate it. Accessibility needs to be part of the process from the start.”

In this field, Gucci is one of the few companies where a professional like Antonino is part of the internal team, working directly alongside developers and promoting the spread of accessibility culture. "It’s not just about applying technical rules, but about immersing teams in developing a true accessible mindset. This has created real internal expertise and more aware teams.”

Antonino’s experience shows that diverse skills and interests can be brought together into a single career path, no matter how different they initially seem, and determination and curiosity can lead us to achieving extraordinary things. “If there’s one thing I’ve learned, it’s that taking a leap and trying something new always brings something positive.”

Antonino in 6 questions

The best thing about your job: My colleagues.

The greatest professional achievement: The fact that everything we release is 100% accessible. When I see that we’ve reached 'Accessibility 100%', it fills me with great pride and it’s the result of a commitment shared by the entire company.

Your dream job: My dream job is one where I’m helpful to others and to the wider community – I've already got it, even though it never seems like I’m doing enough.

The talent you wish you had: Quick thinking and, of course, patience.  

What was your first impression of Gucci:  Very positive, particularly in terms of building strong interpersonal relationships with colleagues!

A musical recommendation: If I had to choose one, as a classical composer, I think Leonard Bernstein is the one that resonates most with me in recent years. In the pop genre, well... I’d say Maitre Gims, a French artist, somewhat unknown in Italy, but in my opinion, exceptional.