The rise of digital accessibility: building the business case
You might not consider that digital accessibility to be a good business, but it actually is, and here’s why. 1B people or about 15% of the human population have some form of disability. Worldwide, there are also more than 300 million people who are color blind, similar to the number of people living in the United States. One in 4 U.S. adults has a disability that impacts major life activities. Out of these — cognitive disability is most common in younger adults, while mobility disability is most common for others.
But that’s not all. Accessible products are not niche if we look to take into consideration the accessibility persona spectrum. The persona spectrum reminds us that accessible design includes everyone and splits individuals into three key accessibility segments: people with a permanent disability, people with a temporary disability, and ones with a situational disability.
Designing for people with diverse abilities
Let’s take a look into couple of practical examples of how designing with accessibility in mind we’re able to design better products for all:
- Increasing the contrast on apps and websites: will help those with sight loss but also help those who are browsing under bright light. According to a study made by the University of California, color contrast is crucial for users with low vision, as it helps them distinguish between different elements on the screen. Designers should aim for a minimum contrast ratio of 4.5:1 for text and graphics, and 3:1 for large text.
- Providing captions on video-based content sites: will improve the experience for those with hearing loss but also for people who are unable to play audio in their current location. There are different kinds of captions you can use based on the context and need: automated, closed, synchronized, or high-contrast ones. In addition to that supporting keyboard navigation controls will help those with mobility impairments to control the video. It’s also a good practice to offer audio descriptions for videos that include visual information, such as images or graphs, that cannot be understood from the audio alone.
When we build products with accessibility in mind it’s important, that websites, tools, and technologies are designed and developed so that people with diverse abilities can use them. More specifically, people can: perceive, understand, navigate, and interact with the web and apps without facing challenges.
For this purpose, the UK government has released 6 posters on accessible design best practices. They target users with disabilities such as low vision, hearing loss, dyslexia, mobility issues, autism, and screen reader users. The posters highlight the “dos” of good design such as clear color contrasts, readable font sizes, and simple layouts. The guidelines also apply to all users, not just those with accessibility needs.
I believe that following these principles makes you a better designer as well since accessibility is closely related to general usability. Both aim to define and deliver a more intuitive user experience.
The state of the accessibility business market
Large enterprises even today sometimes think, that it’s not worth the money, time, and effort required to invest more than the bare minimum. The shift of our thinking to the commercial opportunity of building better experiences for everyone instead of focusing on the minimum legal compliance requirements generates more sustainable returns on investments. Following this approach, it’s possible to create innovative digital solutions and services servicing the market.
Let’s look into some numbers of potential customers of your accessible digital products and services, which could be your ever-growing market potential as well. American Institutes for Research estimates that the total after-tax disposable income for working-age people with disabilities is about $490 billion. This is a similar number to that of other important significant market segments, such as African Americans and Hispanics. And if we count discretionary income for working-age people with disabilities, it’s also a staggering amount of $21 billion, which is greater than that of the African-American and Hispanic market segments combined.
The key factors determining the focus on digital accessibility today
The focus on unlocking the market potential already started. But mainly because of other initiatives and risks the businesses are facing today. Let’s look into some key determining factors:
- Focus on creating better experiences for everyone: Product teams knuckling down on usability addresses the issues and challenges some people with disabilities are facing as well.
- Rapidly growing aging population and services digitalization: Aging population means increased demand for accessible digital products and services in the future. Companies that swallow the hard pill today by investing in accessibility today, will see the benefits afterward. Digitalization and process automation are also other aspects of it, while companies are competing with each other by trying to reduce manual work costs by offering digital alternatives or simplifying processes as it makes it easier for you to rule the world from your couch.
- So-called curb cut effect: This phenomenon speaks of disability-friendly features, which are being used and appreciated significantly by a larger group than the people they intended. The impact of this kind of design is so significant that the term curb cut effect was made. Curb cuts on sidewalks for example, though designed for people with physical disabilities, make it easier for the elderly with walkers or for people pushing strollers. The idea behind this term is definitely about making the kind of design, which makes things better for everyone in the process. The comic down below explores this idea more in detail.
- Emerging legal risks: Avoiding the legal risk from the lack of digital accessibility is a thing of today. This trend will follow as in the future more international laws will take into action. In the US alone, according to a study from UsableNet, there were over 3,500 digital (web, app, and video) accessibility lawsuits in 2020. It’s a 20% increase from 2019.
- Commitments to diversity, equity, and inclusion (DE&I): A research study of Fortune 100 companies shows that high-performing businesses are the ones that take disability inclusion as part of an overall diversity strategy. Taking action and showing integrated commitment both to your customers and your employees by providing accessible products — states that devotion to diversity, equity, and inclusion is real. After all, being on track with DE&I helps to protect and enhance the brand and also pays off demonstrating that a business has a genuine sense of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR).
Many organisations are waking up to the fact that embracing accessibility leads to multiple benefits — reducing legal risks, strengthening brand presence, improving customer experience and colleague productivity. — Paul Smyth, Head of Digital Accessibility, Barclays
Some interesting business cases
According to Web Accessibility Initiative, there are both tangible and intangible benefits to businesses that dedicate resources to digital accessibility. Some may argue against the accessibility business case because of ROI, which is too difficult to measure. That’s why a useful business case also presents the impact on the cost and risk of inaction.
Accessibility efforts of the past driving innovation today
Unbeknown to most people, the need to design for people with disabilities sparked the creation of many of the technologies we use today. The telephone, the typewriter, punch cards, email, text-to-speech, and voice controls all of these inventions were initially meant to include those with a disability.
Some short stories behind these inventions:
- The Telephone: Alexander Graham Bell, the inventor of the telephone, was motivated by his desire to help his deaf mother and wife communicate.
- The Typewriter: Pellegrino Turri invented the modern typewriter to help his blind lover communicate.
- Punch Cards: This system was initially developed to help people with visual impairments perform mathematical calculations.
- Email: Email was developed to improve communication for people with mobility impairments who found it difficult to use traditional mail services.
- Text-to-Speech: This technology was designed to help people with visual impairments read and understand written content.
- Voice Controls: Technology, such as Apple’s Siri or Amazon’s Alexa, was created to help people with mobility impairments interact with their devices more easily.
Today all of these technologies have found a much broader application. Partially the success of these inventions is due to the fact that accessibility is closely related to general usability. And as we know both aim to define and deliver a more intuitive user experience.
Inventions of today for the future to come
“The accessibility problems of today are the mainstream breakthroughs of tomorrow. “— according to Eve Andersson, Director, Accessibility Engineering at Google. The most common accessibility features used on Android and iPhone phones are tools such as Google TalkBack, and VoiceOver. Let’s explore some other interesting products and business cases in the market.
- Bionic reading: Bionic books made by Swiss company Bionic Reading GmbH are regular ebook files with special formatting. This tech is based on the idea of creating artificial fixation points by making parts of the words bolded and allowing your brain to complete the rest. It’s a free-to-use tool that also comes with an API, which means that developers are able to use it on other apps or projects.
- iOS accessibility features: There are many advanced features for people with limited abilities, let’s mention a couple of them for those with hearing loss. Sound Recognition — Accessibility feature that can give users with hearing challenges a visual cue for a variety of sounds happening in their environment. Headphone Accommodations — Amplify soft sounds and adjust certain frequencies for your hearing needs.
- Xbox adaptive controller: the Xbox adaptive controller is a customizable device intended to support a wide range of needs and disabilities, making video games more accessible. Microsoft even came close to cutting it from the funding budget but eventually, the company’s employees rebelled and made it happen.
Glimpse to other technologies which will shape the future
Here are just a few technologies, that development will also help those with diverse abilities to live fulfilling lives.
- Driverless cars: Projections indicate that driverless cars hold great promise for enhancing the independence of people with diverse abilities. This technology has the potential to greatly improve the lives of people with disabilities. With the elimination of the need for a human driver, individuals with mobility impairments, visual impairments, or other disabilities that make driving difficult or impossible can have increased independence and access to transportation. Driverless cars can also be equipped with advanced accessibility features to make them usable for people with a range of disabilities. Driverless cars have the potential to provide greater freedom and autonomy for people with disabilities, allowing them to participate more fully in society.
- Humanoid robots: Last year Elon Musk presented the humanoid robot Optimus. If brought to everyday homes for elderly people, that would shift entirely to the nursing sector. Humanoid robots like Optimus have the potential to greatly improve the lives of people with disabilities, serving as an assistive technology for tasks such as physical therapy and household chores, providing comfort and emotional support, and assisting with transportation and independent living. Additionally, the robot’s advanced technology and accessibility features could be designed to make it accessible for individuals with a range of disabilities, including visual, auditory, and physical impairments.
- AI and voice-powered technology: Speech recognition technology with a mobile device, computer or smart home device, personal smart devices (Alexa, Google Home, etc), and voice-powered web pages— incredibly beneficial and powerful tools for people with disabilities. ChatGPT made by AI research and deployment company OpenAI is just one of the examples of how AI technologies can take over the tech industry and help with numerous tedious tasks.
- Artificial retina: Research and development are on their way. The invention might help restore sight for participants who are blind and may also help future robots with real-time image-processing systems, effectively enabling them to “see”. An artificial retina has the potential to revolutionize the lives of people with visual impairments, providing them with new and innovative ways to see and interact with the world.
- 3d printing and imaging: There is this interesting 3d printing technology use case described by Phil Kragnes the manager of computer accommodations at the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis.: “Once upon a time, if someone who was blind was taking a zoology class, a lot of time had to be taken to describe what a red blood cell looks like. Now, we just 3D print it and have them feel it to know what a red blood cell looks like. The technology is a benefit to everyone but has its accessibility uses as well”.
Final note
Digital accessibility is not just a social responsibility, but also a business opportunity. With over 1 billion people globally having some form of disability and a rapidly aging population, the demand for accessible digital products and services is increasing. By designing products with accessibility in mind, businesses can not only serve this hidden market but also create better experiences for all users. The focus on digital accessibility is driven by various factors, including the need to create better experiences, the rapidly growing aging population, legal risks, and commitments to diversity, equity, and inclusion.
As for future technologies, advancements in areas such as artificial intelligence, virtual and augmented reality, and the Internet of Things will have a significant impact on people with disabilities. AI will be able to provide real-time assistance and support, while virtual and augmented reality will offer new experiences and opportunities for people with disabilities. The Internet of Things will create smart environments that are more accessible and user-friendly for everyone. These technologies will play a crucial role in improving the lives of people with disabilities and breaking down barriers to accessibility and inclusion.
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