Workshop: Creating an inclusive approach to communication design

5th June 2008, 10:00am - 4:00pm, London Past event

This successful workshop has been run and adapted over the last four years, bringing together designers and communication professionals across all industry sectors, to explore and engage in creating a more inclusive approach to communication design.

The workshop is designed to make it easier for you to maximise the impact of your design and marketing; remaining innovative while ensuring that your communications are accessible to everyone, including disabled people.

EFD research suggests that developing a better understanding of your disabled users can offer you commercial advantage, by accessing a wider market, as well as brand recognition. Creating products and services that satisfy users with a variety of different needs can also lead to more innovative approaches to design, which are more desirable to all of your markets.

You will have the opportunity to listen to different organisations and their experiences as well as disabled individuals and their needs as your customers.

Who will be speaking at this event?

• Dee Apolline, Consultant, Employers' Forum on Disability
• John Clarkson, Professor of Engineering Design and Director, Cambridge Engineering Design Centre, University of Cambridge
• Daniel Collins,Senior Designer, Wire Design Ltd
• John Corcoran, Director, Wire Design Ltd
• Helen Chipchase, Equality & Diversity Manager for BT Retail, BT
• Robin Christopherson, Head of Accessibility Services, AbilityNet
• Jacqueline Esquivel, Senior Product Support Manager, BT Retail, Strategy Convergence & Products, BT
• Joanna Fitzgerald, Deputy Head of Channel Operations, Channel 4
• Simon Minty, Associate of Employers' Forum on Disability and Director of Minty & Friend (chair)

Why attend?

Subject areas include

The big picture - why accessible design makes commercial sense

• How being more disability confident makes commercial and business sense for you and your organisation.

Understanding your audience and the disabled user

• Who are your users, what might their impairments be?
• The potential barriers to disabled people.
• Understanding your obligations under the Disability Discrimination Act (DDA) and what the term 'reasonable adjustments' means to you and your work.

What is inclusive design and how do you get started?

• Principles of inclusive design and what this means for designers.
• How you manage a professional approach to inclusive design.
• How you mange inclusive design at a project level - from initial trigger to final disposal.
• The future for inclusive design and the impact for designers and the consumer.

Case studies from BT and Channel 4

• Understand how leading EFD members are factoring in inclusive design into their day to day processes and the impact this has had on their wider markets.

Clear and accessible graphic design - finding solutions

• Get a designer's perspective on clear and accessible design, with examples of projects that have factored in accessible design methodology.

Creating accessible websites

• Learn from web design experts, understand the latest standards, use of spoken description and how you can make your website more accessible.

Design, marketing and new media

• See demonstrations of the key issues for a visually impaired user - with an emphasis on design, layout and marketing issues.
• Learn how to create accessible podcast, PDF documents and Flash.

Inclusion versus creative control

• Understand how to be imaginative, creative and inclusive to disabled people.

Learn from colleagues across all industry sectors

• Work together on challenging your own perceptions of accessible design and finding solutions to every day problems.

Who should attend?

Graphic designers, marketing and communications managers and disability or diversity champions.