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ACCESSIBILITY
You should try and make your product accessible to as wide a range of people as possible.
One simple step is to make sure that you do not use any font that is below 11 point in any external print communications. Great care should also be taken when using semi-opaque text or when placing text over busy backgrounds. Unfortunately some design aesthetics seem to imply that the smaller the text the better, which of course it is not! The challenge is to create great design that manages to be clear whilst looking stylish, not over-bold and not too ‘educational’.
Making websites accessible is a relatively new field and is evolving rapidly. It should be remembered that people may be using text readers to browse websites so all new sites should be compatible with this requirement. A site built entirely in Flash will not be compatible.
The basic standard to reach is Conformance Level A (conforming to all
Priority 1 checkpoints of Web Content Accessibility Guidelines from W3C
WorldWide Web Consortium. See their full
guidelines.
In an ideal world all print material would be available in Braille, large print, electronically and on tape. All videos would be available with subtitles and/or signer and would include a separate audio-description for people with visual impairments. Producing all these formats is obviously expensive, though some - such as large print versions - can be relatively cheap to produce. Whether to produce alternative formats will be a decision based on audience needs, priorities and money available.
You may wish to be able to distribute your videos on both VHS and DVD with subtitles or a BSL or Makaton signer. Again, cost considerations are more likely to be preventative. But you should think about the needs of the audience before ruling any of these options out. You may also be able to access special funding in order to make your product accessible and you might want to set up a development advisory group to think through fine details around accessibility, usage, style, content. This should include typical users of the product.
While you are keen to ensure that products will not date too quickly and benefit from the latest technology, you should remember that many people on state benefits and low incomes do necessarily have the latest technology, so find a happy medium that suits all or make more than one version of the product.
You should also be aware that The Disability Discrimination Act (DDA) makes it unlawful to treat people with disabilities less favourably than others on account of their disabilities in employment and provision of goods and services. Service providers are also required to make ‘reasonable adjustments’ to the way in which services are run and their establishments are organized. These can include changes to premises, working hours, redistribution of duties and so on that will help a person with a disability to perform duties better. Under the DDA, failure to make reasonable adjustments is also defined as discrimination.