ricability logo

 

Inclusive design - products that are easy for everybody to use (view report contents)

Discussion and recommendations

What initiatives might be made to achieve better design?

Phoneability (see reference 36) argue that a significant cultural shift will be necessary to bring about any real change. If this is to be achieved, action is needed by legislators, manufacturers, product designers – and consumers themselves. A good focus for action would be the year 2003, the European Year of Disabled Citizens, and intended to be a catalyst for new policies. Below we review some of the options. Each section makes recommendations.


Legislation

The Disability Discrimination Act does not require anything of product manufacturers. It deals with services and with the sale of goods, but not with the goods themselves. Legislation in other countries is also mostly silent about product design (see reference 37). One exception is the USA Telecommunications Act which requires service and equipment providers to make their products accessible where this is "readily achievable" (see reference 38).

Objections to legislation include the complexities of drafting a workable law which would take account of the diversity of impairments and the range of products it would need to cover. The analogy of safety legislation suggests the degree of complexity involved. There is a general requirement for products to be safe. How this is achieved is vastly different for ships and kettles, so general legislation in backed up by product-specific standards and laws. Legislation on inclusive design would need to be supported by specific requirements for each product group – a huge task.

A further obstacle for the UK is that under EU law no country can impose local rules which would stop the free circulation of goods. So even if manufacturers in the UK adopted the principles of inclusive design, it would still be illegal to prevent the sale of less accessible products made in other EU countries. Current EU regulations about the free movement of goods mainly relate to safety and electrical interference.

While it is theoretically possible to extend this legislation, it would mean renegotiating existing EU directives and backing them up with requirements for individual products. Given that current regulations took years to negotiate it would be difficult to persuade legislators to consider this as a priority.

However several EU initiatives may help create a climate in which inclusive design becomes increasingly considered as a matter of routine:

  • Article 13 of the European Treaty allows the EU to introduce non-discrimination legislation in areas where it has a competence, such as the environment, transport, employment and the internal market. Based on this Article an anti-discrimination package on employment and training was adopted by the Commission in 1999 (see reference 39). It obliged employers to adapt workplaces for disabled people. This provides opportunities to promote accessible design.

  • Article 95 of the European Treaty obliges the Community to harmonise legislation governing the free movement of goods, which has an impact on the setting of common design standards. The Amsterdam Treaty includes a clause (Declaration 22) which states that community institutions should take account of the needs of disabled people when drawing up measures under Article 95 (see reference 40). Declaration 22 is not legally binding, but the European Disability Forum will be pressing for it to be incorporated into the Treaty as part of the next round of negotiations on the Nice Treaty, which will be concluded in 2004.

  • In 1999 the Commission launched E-Europe – an information society for all which set out targets to bring information technology (IT) within the reach of all Europeans. Priorities included a review to ensure that legislation and EU programmes considered accessibility (see reference 41). It recognised that IT products needed to be usable by the widest number of people and be compatible with assistive devices. Another communication recommended that information industries ensured that equipment met "user-friendly" standards (see reference 42).

  • The Commission’s document "Towards a barrier free Europe" took the view that accessibility should be promoted in a co-ordinated way across policy fields. One proposal was to find new ways to promote "universal" design in accessibility (see reference 43) and initiatives are underway as part of the EU consumer policy action plan in the field of electronic communications.

  • Member States have been asked to ensure that fixed public telephone services are accessible and affordable (see reference 44). The Commission also has power to insist that some terminals and radio equipment is usable by disabled people (see reference 45). Future directives in the telecommunication and electronic field will introduce further measures.

Recommendation

  • Legislation which would make inclusive design compulsory is impractical and unlikely. However the EU have put inclusive design on several agendas and the general direction of these initiatives looks promising. However it is too soon to know how effective they will be in practice and this needs to be monitored. The Disability Rights Task Force have asked the UK Government to provide information on the scope for action on legislation (see reference 46). This needs to be discussed with the European Disability Forum so that a coordinated European strategy can be planned.

Standards

European Standards provide guidance on performance, safety and other aspects of product design. While safety standards are mandatory, most others are voluntary.
There is no standard for inclusive design and few standards for mainstream products have clauses which relate to ease of use. In a period which has seen progress in making buildings and transport accessible, standards organisations have become aware of this increasingly glaring gap. In 1998 the two international standards organisations, the International Standardisation Organisation and International Electrotechnical Commission, began work in this area. They will encourage all standard making bodies to consider the needs of older and disabled people when formulating standards for products, services and environments (see reference 47). Guidelines which outline the main issues and provide examples of good practice are scheduled for 2001 (see reference 48).

The EU are working on the same lines. In 1999 the three European Standards bodies (see reference 49) were asked to provide guidance for standards writers on both the safety and usability of products for elderly and disabled people (see reference 50). The intention is to encourage all European Standards to abide by design for all principles. To do this the EU is considering adopting the ISO/IEC guidelines and setting up a mechanism for monitoring the use made of them, and for ensuring that they are continuously improved and updated.

These Standards are not likely to be mandatory. Even so, this marks a significant step forward, not least because inclusive design issues will be flagged up in all future discussion about international and European standards. No manufacturer will be able to plead ignorance of the issues

Recommendations

  • The use made of these guidelines by Standards committees should be monitore

  • It is likely that manufacturers will need information which is more specific than the guidelines. The Disability Rights Task Force has already resolved to promote best practice about the provision of information in accessible formats (see reference 51). Similar initiatives need to be taken for product design.

Self regulation

It is said that self regulation generally has the support of industry whereas legislation may not. Further, it is claimed the spirit as well as the letter of any rules are more likely to be followed with self regulation. This, for example, is said to be one of the strengths of the UK Code of Advertising Practice. In the context of eEurope proposals, the European Disability Forum have already called for the development of standards for inclusive design and for a system of self certification.

Recommendation

  • Manufacturers should be asked to endorse the European standards when they are launched and to provide information about any positive action they are taking in this area, both to help consumers choose and as a beacon of good practice.

Work with manufacturers

For inclusive design to work those concerned with the technical side of product development need to work closely with stylists. Both affect how easy a product is to use and its appeal. Neither group may have much experience of how things are used by disabled or older people.

The literature on inclusive design stresses how important it is to consult with consumers. A recurrent theme of a recent Royal College of Art conference (see reference 52) was how consultation with disabled people suggested new ideas and led to some revolutionary thinking. User involvement in product development would seem to be a self-evident necessity for product designers, yet this is reported to be a major stumbling block for some manufacturers (see reference 53).

A comprehensive change in attitude is needed to ensure that this is done as a matter of routine. The new Standards should help. The Disability Rights Task Force have put down a marker with a resolution to lobby manufacturers, working through the DTI (see reference 54). The Design Council has called for a series of joint projects to demonstrate how inclusive design can be combined with commercial success (see reference 55).

Recommendations

  • Some manufacturers still need convincing. Disability organisations need to organise a European programme of seminars for major manufacturers, using the new Standards as a framework, but based on making the commercial case for the principles of inclusive design.

  • Manufacturers and standards bodies should always involve and consult with representatives of disability organisations and other consumer groups to ensure that users are sufficiently involved in the design process. Disability, consumer and other organisations should provide practical help to make it easy for manufacturers to consult with their potential older and disabled customers. They would need funding to be able to do this. This could consist of providing advice about who and how to consult and setting up networks of consumers who could contribute to discussions and practical trials.

  • Clear practical guidance needs to be provided for manufacturers which provide, in strictly practical engineering terms, optimal and acceptable ranges for particular and commonly found features of major products, such as switches or rotary controls.

Examples of this approach can be seen in Building Sight. (Royal National Institute for the Blind) and in a Transport and Road Research Laboratory investigation of vehicle design (see reference 56). The Design Council has proposed that such information should be collected and collated so that it is available in a consolidated form from a single source (see reference 57).


Design colleges

There is no core curriculum for design colleges and courses covering inclusive design are not thought to be widespread (see reference 58). Those that do exist are likely to vary in depth and coverage.

A recent survey of design colleges received too poor a response for firm conclusions to be drawn, but suggested that many courses were based on practical work with little formal teaching. A content analysis of 15 courses in communication technology and 8 courses in product design found no references to accessibility or any related subject (see reference 59).

Part of the reason for this is thought to be that design courses are geared towards teaching certain core skills such as the use of information technology. Students are unlikely to have opportunities to consider inclusive design until they undertake a major practical project their final year, or as part of post-graduate training. And even then they may not have the basic knowledge necessary to work in this area.

Recommendations

  • Manufacturers need to be encouraged to sponsor projects on inclusive design. The curricula for design and business management courses are often developed in consultation with potential employers and it is particularly important that these embrace user-centred work and inclusive design.

  • The Royal Society of Arts New design for old competition has been in existence for over 15 years and has had a profound effect on younger designers. Colleges around the world are following suit with similar events. This is an important development because they engage the interest of young designers and the community in general. Competitions along these lines need to be encouraged and funded.

  • Teaching materials to support the teaching of inclusive design need to be developed for supply to design colleges and for inclusion in design and business management courses.

  • More contact between disability organisations and design colleges is needed, such as those pioneered by the Helen Hamlyn Research Centre at the Royal College of Art (see reference 60).

  • T here are no statistics on the number of designers with disabilities in the UK, although the number is thought to be low. Design colleges need to take active steps to encourage disabled people to train as designers. This would raise the disability awareness of both colleges and designers.

Awards and labels

Prizes or approval labels could be given for some products. The Owlmark is an approval scheme run by the Centre for Applied Gerontology at the University of Birmingham. Ricability assesses products comparatively against design for all principles and publishes comparative reports. But there is no comprehensive approval scheme for mainstream products in the UK. Elsewhere these are beginning to appear – Finland and Spain have schemes which allow companies to display a "design for all commitment" label.

Recommendation

  • An independent approval and labelling scheme for popular mainstream appliances should be established to identify products with accessible features.

Procurement policies

The USA Rehabilitation Act requires certain electronic and information technology products to be accessible (see reference 61). Federal agencies cannot purchase equipment which does not meet these requirements (see reference 62), which has made accessibility something of a commercial necessity.
In the EU, Government procurement agencies are not allowed to add conditions which may be a barrier to trade. However, as part of the E-Europe scheme, the Commission has undertaken to look at how public procurement could take account of the needs of disabled people (see reference 63). The European Disability Forum is pressing for a EU Directive covering both goods and services, aiming for a launch in 2003, the European Year of Disabled People. If this happens, procurement agencies may get the muscle their counterparts have in the USA.

Recommendations

  • Government departments should adopt an accessible design procurement policy once this is allowed.

  • Disability organisations should try to persuade commercial organisations to include accessibility clauses in their purchasing policies.

Consumers

Market forces have not so far worked in favour of inclusive design. Part of the problem is that consumers have not generally demanded accessible products. Many elderly people tend to blame difficulties on themselves rather than complaining about poor design.

Comparative product information has been hard to come by – so far regular information on mainstream products has been confined to three countries – France (Institut National de Consummation), Sweden (Konsumentverket) and the UK (Ricability) (see reference 64). These do not cover a comprehensive range of products and have not been widely disseminated, given the size of the potential demand.
Yet better information for consumers has great potential for change. In Japan Dr Satoshi Kose (see reference 65) found that young house purchasers would not consider accommodation that had inaccessible features, once these disadvantages have been pointed out to them.

Recommendations

  • More comprehensive programmes of product evaluations need to be carried out in the UK and in Europe, both to provide consumers with information they need in order to be able to choose, and to encourage manufacturers to provide inclusively designed products.

  • The results of this research need to be distributed widely to create greater consumer demand for accessible products.

 

Report Contents

Summary
Introduction
What is inclusive design?
The changing market place

Extent of the problem
Misunderstandings and barriers

Discussion and full recommendations

Pictures of example products
References

Back to top