The Inclusive Innovation Playbook

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Exploring Diversity

Disability

Explore unique needs and common solutions influenced by disability

According to a

World Bank Report⁠

, one billion people, or 15% of the world’s population, experience some form of disability. Persons with disabilities, on average as a group, are more likely to experience adverse socioeconomic outcomes than persons without disabilities.

Designing products and services that are accessible is not only the right thing to do from an ethical and moral standpoint, but it's also essential for satisfying the needs of a significant portion of your target audience. A common mistake is assuming that accessibility only impacts a small group of users, which makes it less of a priority. However, you might be surprised by the number of people affected. In the UK, for instance,

32% of households⁠

have at least one person with a disability. This exclusion isn't limited to individuals with permanent disabilities. It can also impact close friends and family members, the aging population and those with temporary or situational limitations.

Disability rates increase significantly with age. The average age of the global population is also increasing. So it is important to note that disability inclusion is critical to serve an older user base.

Accessibility benefits everyone and increases usability for all users.

It isn’t just a consideration for B2C solutions. In a B2B context, inaccessible solutions could potentially exclude employees, customers, or stakeholders who have disabilities or temporary limitations. This exclusion can result in reduced productivity, lower engagement, and ultimately, loss of revenue.

Designing accessible solutions can be a competitive advantage, as it can open up new markets and improve overall user satisfaction, leading to increased customer loyalty and business growth.

What is accessibility?

Accessibility means making our products and services equally usable by everyone. This includes people with physical, sensory and cognitive disabilities as well as neurodivergent conditions. Someone with a disability or accessibility needs should have the same experience as anyone else.

By creating accessible products and services, businesses can not only meet the needs of a diverse customer base but also tap into new markets, foster customer loyalty and improve their overall reputation. Accessible design is not just about meeting legal requirements but also about providing an inclusive and welcoming experience for all customers, regardless of their abilities. Therefore, if you want to ensure your business is positioned for long-term success, you must prioritise accessibility in your product and service design.

What are the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG)?

When it comes to inclusive digital product and service design, accessibility is the most well developed and understood area. The Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) are technical standards on

web accessibility⁠

developed by the

World Wide Web Consortium⁠

(W3C).

The guidelines represent a shared, international standard developed by many different stakeholders, including industry, disability organisations, government, and accessibility research organisations. WCAG isn’t a legal requirement, but a set of globally adopted standards.

The guidelines aim to make websites, apps, electronic documents, and other digital assets accessible to people with a broad range of disabilities, including sensory, intellectual, learning and physical disabilities. The WCAG standards are categorized based on

four main principles⁠

: perceivable, operable, understandable and robust, often referred to as POUR.

Disability can be permanent, temporary and situational

Permanent disabilities such as blindness or deafness

Temporary disabilities such as a broken arm or recovery from surgery

Situational disabilities like being in a noisy environment or trying to use a website on a small phone screen.

This means inclusive solutions can benefit a wide range of people for different reasons, and not just those who identify as being a person with a disability. For example high contrast text that is clearly visible against the background will be inclusive for users with low vision (permanent), users with photosensitivity through migraine (temporary) or users in bright sunlight (situational).

The Persona Spectrum is part of the

Microsoft Inclusive Design Toolkit Activity Cards⁠

. It can help you understand related limitations across a spectrum of permanent, temporary, and situational disabilities.

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It’s a nice tool to help foster empathy and to show how a solution can scale to a broader audience.

We’d recommend using the term non-speaking, rather than non-verbal in this context. Here is

an article⁠

that explains why.

I prefer non-speaking as I understand all language. Non-verbal suggests I don’t understand language and doesn’t represent how I love language.

Matt Crittenden

When designing inclusive digital products and services, it's important to take into account the full range of disabilities and the ways in which people interact with technology. Accessibility requires anticipating and meeting needs, recognising and removing barriers and supporting people to engage and use your products and services independently. This requires empathy, active listening, and a commitment to inclusion as a core principle of design, which will lead to people feeling empowered and included, not frustrated, let down or excluded.

Common challenges

People with disabilities face a range of barriers when accessing digital products and services, which can limit their ability to participate fully in society.

We all have multiple identities which are all intertwined. Whilst this page focuses on disability, it is important to take an

intersectional approach⁠

and recognise that people can be impacted differently.

For example, two people with the same disability who are different genders, ethnicities and sexualities may be impacted in very different ways.

Some common problems include:

Inaccessibility of technology: This includes issues with software, hardware, and websites that are not designed to be usable by people with disabilities. For example, a website that is not compatible with screen readers makes it difficult for someone who is blind to access information.

Poor design and usability: Products that are not designed with accessibility in mind can be difficult or impossible for people with disabilities to use. For example, buttons that are too small or not easily clickable can make it difficult for people with limited mobility to use a device.

Inadequate customer support: Many companies do not provide adequate support for people with disabilities, leaving them to figure out how to use the product on their own. This can result in frustration and a feeling of being excluded from the experience.

Limited accessibility features: Many digital products and services do not offer accessibility features that are critical for people with disabilities, such as closed captioning, audio descriptions, or alternative text for images.

Lack of awareness of disabilities: Many designers and developers lack an understanding of the needs of people with disabilities, which can result in products that are not inclusive.

No one size fits all solution: People are unique and so are their needs. Some users need high contrast, others need lower contrasts. Some people love dark mode, others

experience ‘halation’⁠

when they use it. The only solution is to put the user in control.

Digital tools exist to help you experience a website as if you had a specific eye condition.

Inclusive solutions

People with disabilities may have specific accessibility and assistive technology needs that need to be considered when designing and developing digital products and services. Often addressing these needs will create solutions that benefit a wide range of users.

Here are a few examples of inclusive solutions you can implement:

Allow for personalisation: Remember there is no one size fits all when it comes to serving a diverse audience with differing needs. The best way to create a great experience for all users is to allow them to choose what works for them. This could be selecting options for display or integrating with their preferred accessibility tools.

Accessibility guidelines: Follow established accessibility guidelines, such as the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG), to ensure that digital products and services are accessible to users with disabilities.

Support for assistive technology: Ensure digital products and services are compatible with assistive technology such as screen readers and voice recognition software. This includes having a logical heading structure, descriptive link text, and clear navigation to make it easy for users of assistive technology.

Keyboard navigation: Design digital products and services that can be easily navigated using just a keyboard, without the need for a mouse. This is especially important for people with physical disabilities who cannot use a mouse.

Captions and transcripts: Provide captions and transcripts for videos, audio recordings, and other multimedia content to make it accessible for people with hearing difficulties.

Alternative text for images: Provide descriptive alternative text for images, icons, and graphics to make the content accessible for people who are visually impaired and use screen readers.

Colour contrast: Consider the contrast between text and background colours to make the content legible for people with visual impairments. Remember there is no one size fits all — some people need high contrast to differentiate between the background and text, some people, for example, those with

Irlen Syndrome⁠

, need low contrast as they can’t process text in certain, often bright, colours. The key is supporting personalisation.

Text size: Allow users to adjust the text size to meet their needs and make the content legible for people with visual impairments.

Simple and clear language: Use simple, clear language to make content accessible for people with cognitive difficulties and language barriers.

Considered use of animation: Use animation carefully, considering the potential for motion sickness or other adverse effects for users with physical or sensory disabilities.

Accessible forms: Make sure that forms are accessible to users who may have difficulty with physical input, such as users with limited mobility or vision impairments.

For example, date formats with drop-down selection can be difficult for those with limited mobility. Having the option to type-in makes this more accessible.

Multimodal navigation: Consider multiple navigation options, such as voice commands, gesture control, or touch-based navigation for users who may have difficulty using a mouse or keyboard.

Mobile accessibility: As more and more people access the internet through mobile devices, it's important to ensure that digital products and services are optimized for these devices and accessible to users with disabilities.

User testing: Regularly test digital products and services with users who have disabilities to ensure that they are accessible and usable. This feedback can also help identify potential problems early and provide guidance on how to make improvements.

Embed accessibility: Integrate accessibility into the design, development, and delivery of digital products and services from the outset to minimize the cost of retrofitting and ensure a seamless user experience for people with disabilities.

In the physical world, the Nike FlyEase ‘no hands’ shoe is

a brilliant story of inclusive design⁠

. It all started with a letter to Nike from a teenager with Cerebral Palsy who was unable to tie his own shoe laces...

Additional Resources

In the UK blind and partially sighted people have a legal right to receive accessible health and care information. RNIB has created resources for health and care professionals, to support implementation of accessible information for blind and partially sighted patients and service users.

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Loading www.rnib.org.uk⁠

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