Accessibility is the practice of making products and services usable by people with different abilities and needs. Designing for accessibility is a legal requirement in many countries and a moral and business imperative. In this blog post, we will explore three reasons why designing new products for accessibility benefits everyone.
Accessibility increases your potential market and customer satisfaction.
According to the World Health Organization, more than one billion people in the world have some form of disability, and this number is expected to rise as the population ages. This means that a significant portion of your potential customers may have difficulties using your products if they are not accessible. By designing new products for accessibility, you can reach a wider and more diverse audience and increase customer loyalty and retention. Moreover, accessible products can also benefit people without disabilities, such as those with temporary impairments (e.g., broken arm), situational limitations (e.g., low-light environment), or preferences (e.g., larger font size).
Accessibility improves your innovation and creativity.
Designing for accessibility can challenge you to think outside the box and find new ways to solve problems and meet user needs. You can discover new opportunities and ideas to enhance your product’s functionality and usability by considering different perspectives and scenarios. For example, voice assistants like Siri and Alexa were originally developed for people with visual impairments, but now they are widely used by millions for convenience and efficiency. Similarly, captioning and subtitles were initially created for people with hearing impairments, but now they are useful for people who speak different languages or want to watch videos in noisy environments.
Accessibility enhances your social responsibility and reputation.
Designing for accessibility is not only good for your business but also good for your society and environment. By making your products accessible, you can contribute to social inclusion and equality and empower people with disabilities to participate in various aspects of life. You can also demonstrate your commitment to corporate social responsibility and ethical values and build trust and credibility with your stakeholders. Furthermore, accessible products can reduce environmental impact by minimizing waste and energy consumption. For example, accessible websites can load faster and use less bandwidth, saving money and carbon emissions.
In conclusion, designing new products for accessibility is a win-win situation for everyone involved. It can help you expand your market, improve innovation, and enhance social responsibility. It can also help you create more user-friendly, functional, and enjoyable products for everyone.