{"id":2024,"date":"2017-05-10T10:00:09","date_gmt":"2017-05-10T16:00:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.cadcrowd.com\/blog\/?p=2024"},"modified":"2018-06-15T18:22:10","modified_gmt":"2018-06-16T00:22:10","slug":"accessible-design-better-products-for-everyone","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.cadcrowd.com\/blog\/accessible-design-better-products-for-everyone\/","title":{"rendered":"Accessible Design: Better Products for Everyone"},"content":{"rendered":"

Accessible design means products means designing products and interfaces that can be used by everyone \u2014 or at least as many people as possible! We typically think in this context of people with disabilities. While this is the main focus of accessible design, it’s certainly not the full extent! Good accessible design also takes into account other differences, like age, size, and life experience. For example, we want to consider people who might be blind as well as those who might be color-blind. A great accessible product can be used by seniors and children alike, by the able-bodied and the disabled.<\/p>\n

And this is really the main point. Accessible design is, at the root, all about usability. And usability is at the heart of\u00a0any\u00a0<\/em>great product design<\/a>. Accessibility is not a barrier or a limitation to innovation. The design constraints imposed by accessibility are constraints that lead to better products for\u00a0everyone<\/em>. Let’s look at some of the advantages of designing accessible products.<\/p>\n

1. Consumers Desire Usability<\/h3>\n

Consumers want products that are functional and simple to use. Consumers are more likely to buy intuitive, easy-to-learn products\u00a0and are more likely to recommend them to friends and family. This doesn’t mean that you can’t design sophisticated products, but the less difficult it is for consumers to use your product, the easier it will be to sell it to them.<\/p>\n

Improving accessibility pretty much automatically means making your product more usable for\u00a0everyone.\u00a0<\/em>If you’ve designed your product so that it can be used by people with hearing or visual impairments, for example, you’re pretty much guaranteed to have made a product that will be more intuitive for everyone else, too.<\/p>\n

Closed captioning was initially developed to cater towards people with impaired hearing. While this is still certainly the main benefit, closed captioning has also become useful in all kinds of situations that benefit everyone else, too. Think of the last time you went to a pub or sports bar. There might be three or four different channels being shown in the same loud room, a feat made possible by closed captioning.<\/p>\n

Similarly, YouTube auto-captioning feature was first developed with deaf users in mind. But they soon realized that the software could also be used for translations, inspiring the auto-translation tool that adds translated subtitles to videos.<\/p>\n

The take home point here is that designing for accessibility doesn’t make for clunky, unwieldy products. In fact, it results in the opposite. Accessible design is universal design.\u00a0<\/em>Not only will your existing customer base like it, but you’ll be opening yourself up to whole new communities of consumers that you might not otherwise have connected with.<\/p>\n

2. Broaden Your\u00a0Customer Base\"mobility-assistance-device-wheelchair-3d-modeling-design\"<\/h3>\n

The number of people looking for accessibly designed products is huge, and it’s growing. According to BCC Research<\/a>, the market in the U.S for assistive technology is projected to grow from $40.6 billion in 2014 to $58.3 billion in 2020. In the U.S, there is an estimated 19 million households<\/a> with at least one member that has a disability of some kind.<\/p>\n

That’s a big market, and it means that the extra effort you put into designing an accessible product.<\/p>\n

Designing a successful product hinges on effectively delivering customers products that they want. When you can give your customers a product that they have actively been asking for, you’ve put yourself in a good position, and many people with visual, hearing, or other impairments have certainly been asking.<\/p>\n

3. Improve Your Brand\u00a0Image and Recognition<\/h3>\n

When you make an effort to reach out to under-served demographics, two things happen. First, you open up a new niche market, one that is actively looking for accessible products. Second, you improve your brand image by communicating to consumers that you’re willing to put the effort into designing products that\u00a0everyone<\/em> can use. This can be a great way to boost your brand image \u2014 especially if your competition isn’t really offering accessible options.<\/p>\n

Some Tips for Designing Accessible Products<\/h3>\n