Industry response to inclusive design

Abstract

There are great potential benefits to a company of engaging in inclusive design (ID), that is, in designing for a wide range of potential users, including those who are older or have disabilities. Doing so can have significant commercial benefits, tapping into a large and growing number of older and disabled consumers, as well as meeting legislative requirements. However, while many companies agree with this, many still target young, able-bodied people. As part of the research into ID, it is important to understand why this is so and to identify barriers to and drivers for the adoption of ID by industry. Furthermore, it is useful to identify whether there are any groupings amongst companies that would influence their adoption of ID and the strategies for convincing them of its usefulness. This paper therefore presents the results of exploratory statistical analysis of data from a questionnaire survey of industry's response to ID, consisting of 99 response sets from companies representing manufacturing, retailing, ICT, design and communication industries predominantly in the south of the United Kingdom. Both cluster and factor analysis were applied to the set of companies to elicit groupings on the basis of their responses to questions. These groupings are used to identify four main kinds of companies that respond to ID in different ways. Suggestions are provided for how ID materials can be tailored to meet the needs of these companies, by emphasizing different barriers and drivers and their application to the particular needs of these kinds of companies.