"It's too easy for designers and their managers to treat accessibility as an unnecessary and expensive add-on that reduces functionality, but that's no longer an option." -- Bill Thompson, BBC
"Wrap Rage", a term describing user frustration with impossible-to-open packaging, got an airing at Cambridge University during a recent conference on human-centered design. There was also some candid wake-up calls issued that have relevance to the travel and hospitality industry.
Prof Clarkson looked at the market for usable products, pointing out that the number of people who don't count as "able-bodied" is large and getting larger. these people have a lot of money to spend, at least in the developed world. The estimated 54m people with disabilities in the US spend $1 trillion a year - and even in the UK there are 10m disabled customers who have £10bn to spend.(cont'd)
Beyond the monetary arguments, the article goes on to explain:
It was made very clear to all of us that if we don't do something soon about making our websites, consumer goods and other technologies more accessible and straightforward to use for people across the ability spectrum then we are heading for serious trouble.
Ian Hosking of Scientific Generics sets the argument in terms of aging and a principle he calls the "potential support ratio".
He has been looking at the "potential support ratio", which measures how many people aged 15-64 are there to provide support - in principle - for each one of us over 65. In 1950 the ratio was 12:1, in 2000 it dropped to 9:1 and the projection is that by 2050 it will be only 4:1 for the world as a whole.
Prof Clarkson's warning, and Mr. Hosking's projections, are sobering milestones in the continued dissemination of the principles of Universal Design.
We can't allow our lack of interest in accessibility to go on a lot longer - independent living is an aspiration for older people today but it will be an imperative in 2050 because there will be nobody there to offer support. It's time to take usability a lot more seriously.
Source:
Time to get used to usability
Posted by rollingrains at June 26, 2005 03:46 PM
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/4619793.stm