If products and services are designed so that they cater for a diverse community, then they can reach a much wider audience. Our community is diverse with young and old, people with disabilities, and people from different backgrounds speaking a variety of languages.
The ‘disability dichotomy’ is a mindset where there are standard products and then there are assistive technologies and products for disabled people. Universal Design is a set of principles that help us to find a middle ground where we design as inclusively and accessibly as possible for people of all ages and abilities. This means that something can be accessible for the person in a wheelchair as well as a mum with a pram, a teenager on crutches, an elderly person with a walker or a delivery driver with a trolley.
Designing for all people regardless of age, size, ability or disability makes for better design; and better design is good for business. Below are some links to tips and resources to help you implement Universal Design principles in your business as well as some inspiration from other businesses. It is not an all or nothing exercise and small changes can make a big difference.
Providing information in more than one format
| Inspiration | A personal trainer providing content and classes in various formats - https://www.canberrabusinessnews.com.au/who/the-game-changers/688-breakdowns-and-breakthoughs-the-personal-side-of-personal-training.html Online learning is more than click and read - https://www.canberrabusinessnews.com.au/who/the-entrepreneurs/687-education-disrupted-online-learning-is-more-than-click-and-read.html |
| Tips | Captioning your own videos for free - https://www.washington.edu/accessibility/videos/free-captioning/ YouTube automatic captioning - https://support.google.com/youtube/answer/6373554?hl=en Creating an accessible Digital Future - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wb2X9kYEvXc |
| Resources | Video captions - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iWO5N3n1DXU Writing for web accessibility - https://www.w3.org/WAI/tips/writing/#create-transcripts-and-captions-for-multimedia |
Social Connection - Promoting participation
| Inspiration | Housing choices – the potential of a buyer’s agent in helping buyers overcome blindspots https://www.canberrabusinessnews.com.au/who/the-entrepreneurs/699-how-claire-corby-is-helping-home-buyers-overcome-their-blind-spots.html Karma Kitchen - https://www.wodenbusinessnews.com.au/lifestyle/152-daana-s-40-foot-journey-to-woden.html |
| Tips | The future is inclusive Podcast - https://open.spotify.com/show/32Pp5f23HZBafPc7LGcZGA |
| Resources | The 7 Principles of Universal Design | Ed Roberts Campus - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G-tHuD7R8cs |
Amenities and social infrastructure
Universal Design for physical challenges
Inclusive design in the context of wellbeing
Effective Communication
| Inspiration | 5 tips for engaging participants in online workshops - https://www.wodenbusinessnews.com.au/learning/196-5-tips-for-engaging-participants-in-online-workshops.html Tackling social isolation using radio - https://www.canberrabusinessnews.com.au/why/social-innovation/695-tackling-social-isolation-using-radio.html |
| Tips | 15 Content design tips for your website - https://www.wodenbusinessnews.com.au/learning/205-15-content-design-tips-for-your-website.html Easy English vs Plain English Guide https://centreforinclusivedesign.org.au/index.php/services/guides/2020/04/27/easy-english-versus-plain-english-guide/ |
| Resources | Web accessibility tutorials - https://www.w3.org/WAI/tutorials/ Inclusive language for startups and tech - https://buffer.com/resources/inclusive-language-tech/ Inclusive language - https://www.and.org.au/pages/inclusive-language.html |
