Inclusive design
Inclusive design is the design of mainstream products and services in such a way that as many people as possible can use them easily - whatever their age and ability.
We can help you to make your products more inclusive through assessing them and testing them with users. By working with us your product could become more usable by more people, therefore increasing your potential customer base and you can tap into the £80 billion pound spending power of disabled people in the UK.
You can also state that you have worked with us and if we award you with our coveted RNIB Reference approval you can use our logo and give customers confidence that they are buying an accessible product.
Where do I start?
Before we start working with you, we'll need you to tell us about your product.
Initial information about how far along the design process you are, who your audience is and your timescales for development are really helpful. We'll need to find out lots more about your products and your aims as the process continues.
Ahead of any work being undertaken, you'll also receive a Proposal from us which scopes out the project and associated fees for each stage. This means you can be clear on what we'll be doing with your product from the start.
Early days advice
If you are just starting to design the product, or scoping the specification, this can be a useful point to spend time with one of our consultants. They can talk to you about potential users, design considerations and potential design pitfalls before you start prototyping. We'll happily advise on colours, buttons and materials too. But it's best if we do this in the context of looking at a whole product.
Ergonomic assessment
A stand-alone assessment by our products consultant based on the principles of inclusive design to identify access issues. This is followed up by a report detailing issues and recommendations for improvement.
User trial
A user trial with 15 participants to test the product. This is followed up by a report detailing issues identified by the participants, their comments, data from the trial and recommendations for improvement.
RNIB Reference assessment
The full assessment of the product with a view to receiving the RNIB Reference, the benchmark for inclusive product design. The process is split into stages, beginning with an ergonomic assessment. The report from the ergonomic assessment highlights all necessary improvements which should be made before moving on to the user trial stage. The user trial tests the refined product and identifies any further issues and recommendations. A user trial report is provided detailing all data collected, discussion and conclusions. A final report summarising the full process is provided with final recommendations which must be implemented to receive the RNIB Reference award.
Who have we worked with?
We've worked with lots of different manufacturers and have found that our approach fits in well with the product life cycles and development of the designer's own knowledge about inclusive design.
Have a read through our case studies to find out more.
Contact us
RNIB Access Consultancy Services
PO Box 173
Peterborough
PE2 6WS
Phone: 01733 37 53 70