BT backs inclusive design

BT hosted an inclusive-design conference at the BT Tower with Cambridge University in February. The conference was part of BT’s ongoing commitment to inclusive design, which includes its support of the inclusive design toolkit for designers and manufacturers.

Conference speakers included Andrew Harrop of Age Concern and Help the Aged, professor John Clarkson from the University of Cambridge, Gus Desbarats from The Alloy design agency and John Corcoran from Wire Design.

Consumer spending among the UK’s 50 to 69-year-olds currently runs at £250bn a year - and the 50-plus generation is estimated to grow by more than six million in the next 25 years. BT believes that this alone shows the huge potential for businesses willing to embrace inclusive design and develop products which can be used by the widest audience possible.

BT’s head of usability, Gillian Gibson-Piggott, outlined BT’s journey towards building inclusive design into business processes. And she highlighted some good examples of success such as the Freestyle 750 phone, which has seen increased sales on its predecessor and fewer returns, leading to improved profitability. Inclusivity improvements to the Home Hub and BT.com also featured.

BT launched a new guide at the event: Designs on a Bigger Market: A guide to Inclusive Design,  which is available from the useful downloads section of BT.com’s inclusion pages at www.bt.com/inclusion.

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