How to think about the future of accessible design (and not freak out)

What are the signals telling us about accessibility and inclusivity?

👋 Welcome to The Navigator. A newsletter about people, psychology and design for business leaders who want to make meaningful change. I’m Sarah Ronald, and I write this newsletter with the Nile team. If this email was forwarded to you, you can subscribe to receive it in your inbox every couple of weeks. You can also read and share this post in your browser.

A prosthetic arm visualisation by the Royal Academy of Engineering. Credit: ThisisEngineering RAEng

In the last couple of issues of this newsletter, we’ve talked about the basics of inclusivity and accessibility in the workplace – how to know if your company’s software is accessible (and what to do if it's not).

But what’s the long view? What are the signals telling us about accessibility and inclusivity? How can we start to think about the future of accessible design?

To help answer those questions, I’ve invited Nile’s Design Director, Neil Collman, to share a behind-the-scenes peek into how he’s scanning the horizon and how you can start preparing your organisation for change. 

In this issue: 

• How to think about the future of accessible design

• Global Accessibility Awareness Day with Nile

• Debating international power systems with Statnett’s CEO

My best wishes as you navigate your week,

-

Sarah Ronald

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How to think about the future of accessible design 

A big part of my job at Nile is to help others think differently. 

As a foresight practitioner, I scan the horizon and develop scenarios to help businesses make strategic decisions about the future. I do this by looking at signals of change, which are early and isolated examples of change. I also collaborate with an international network, which includes the Institute for the Future (IFTF), to pool signals.

Signals can be technological, behavioural, commercial, regulatory, political, or environmental. They are not trends. They are not predictions. They are fuel for discussion, debate and new ideas. They help us broaden our perspective and ask “what if…”

Right now, I’m looking at what the signals are telling us about the future of accessible design. I’m excited by the potential of new technologies to make our world more accessible, but also keenly aware of the challenges that still need to be addressed.

Spoiler alert: I don’t have a crystal ball. So rather than give you a trend report, I wanted to help you think differently about the future of accessible design.

Here are some of the signals we’re seeing and the questions we’re thinking about at Nile: 

What if we designed for non-humans?  

Traditionally, design has been focused on the human user. However, as technology advances, we are increasingly interacting with non-human entities, such as smart devices, cobots, AI, robots, and assistance aids. We are also increasingly aware of the importance of designing for non-human stakeholders, such as assistance animals, protected animals, and plants.

This raises the question: what does it mean to design for non-humans?

In some cases, it may mean enabling non-humans to perform tasks that they would not otherwise be able to do. For example, smart devices that can help guide dogs navigate unfamiliar terrain, or cobots that can assist people with disabilities in performing tasks such as cooking or cleaning.

This in turn raises a question of privacy. For smart devices, cobots or robots this might mean designing to enable them or to restrict the data they harvest to mitigate against, for example, the “datafication of childhood”

Here are some examples of how designers are already thinking about designing for non-humans:

• The climate crisis requires new non-human design approaches

• The case for using non-human personas in design

• Designing city layouts and structures for guide dogs, support or assistance dogs 

• The ‘parasite’ that protects your identity by feeding a smart speaker white noise 

What to prepare for: A world in which non-human entities are part of our lives. If design is not just about humans anymore, what needs to be considered? The next logical issue this raises is the ethical implications we need to think about if we want to realise the potential benefits of designing for non-humans.

What if you didn’t have to go to a hospital anymore? 

As the population ages and there is a greater focus on well-being, the role of doctors and hospitals is changing to provide healthcare at home that’s lowering the barrier. There’s also a need for healthcare to scale, and quickly – the current system doesn’t work for patients, nor providers. 

AI is a powerful diagnostic tool and synthetic healthcare data could be used for testing or to enable hyper-personalised services. Using AI or synthetic data tests in this way could make healthcare more affordable, as well as enable specific additional needs to be addressed in personalised treatment solutions.

Here are some possible implications of more accessible healthcare we’re already seeing:

• Home testing kits replacing in-person tests

• Mobile wearable brain scanner for home tests

• Synthetic patient data created by AI to enable greater personalisation in health services and treatments

So what does accessible, deliverable healthcare and diagnosis mean for the experience of treatment?

Home tests and wearable scans enable accessible healthcare at home, as well as long-term and proactive testing or monitoring. This will change the conversational side of healthcare. How will patients' anxieties be managed or supported without human interaction? 

What to prepare for: The potential inequalities in access to healthcare. Will everyone want or be able to afford what they actually need? If I'm poorer, will I just get the "bot" version, where richer patients get the human experience? Will this create unintended consequences in other areas like mental health?

What if work becomes personalised? 

The ability to track brain patterns and health data in new detail will change the way we live and work so it better suits our individual needs. Here are some examples of how personalised work structures could be implemented:

• Wearables that track brain activity and heart rate could be used to monitor employee stress levels and identify when they need a break.

• AI could be used to schedule employees' work hours based on their circadian rhythms, ensuring that they are most productive during their peak hours.

• Workspaces could be designed to accommodate different sensory preferences, such as providing quiet spaces for employees who are easily distracted by noise.

• Companies could offer training and resources to help neurodivergent employees succeed in the workplace.

These personalised work structures could lead to greater efficiency, well-being, and inclusivity of needs, but they could also affect the ability for collaboration and communication. For example, what if employees are working on different schedules or in different locations? It may be more difficult for them to collaborate and communicate.

What to prepare for: Tough questions from employees. Consider how HR would have access to this data and how it would affect workplace trust. Even if companies don’t use this data to make hiring and firing decisions, how will employees feel about sharing such personal data with their employer? 

What if wearables could improve our abilities, instead of just tracking them?

Wearables are becoming increasingly sophisticated, and they’re now capable of doing more than just tracking our health and fitness. 

The wearables market is expected to double in size in the next few years. This growth is being driven by the increasing demand for wearable devices that can track fitness, health, and other metrics. Wearable devices have the potential to develop into superhuman mobility aids and human augmentation tools:

• Wearables that can detect viruses  

• Integrated sensors that can predict falls 

• Brain-controlled prosthetics

A potential shift from health tracking and mobility aids to wearables that augmentation to increase everyone’s ability raises the question: How would everyday life change? What if human augmentation becomes necessary, not additional, to increase the well-being of everyone? 

What to prepare for: Assistive technologies becoming the norm for everyone, not just for those with rare conditions. We don’t think of glasses as assistive technology these days; what will be the 21st-century analogue? We need to get used to the idea that technology will be increasingly used for healthcare purposes in varied ways. There’s a need to learn about the different ways wearables are being used and developed if we’re to understand how they’ll impact daily life. 

- Neil Collman

P.S. If you enjoyed this guest post, every week on LinkedIn I host #FuturesFridays, where I share my analysis and reactions to mini disruptions that would change everything if they blew up. 

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Global Accessibility Awareness Day 

Join us on May 18th for Global Accessibility Awareness Day! We're hosting a full day of drop-in sessions with our director of accessibility where you can ask questions, talk through an area where you're stuck, or simply pick our brains on all things accessibility. Plus, we're launching a special podcast episode featuring some of the top accessibility leaders in the industry. 

Don't miss out on this opportunity to learn, grow, and connect with fellow accessibility advocates.

Email sam@nilehq.com with GAAD in the subject line to reserve your spot and mark your calendars for May 18th!

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Nile News

Debating international power systems with Statnett’s CEO

We recently hosted a dinner with Hilde Tonne, CEO of the Norwegian electricity transmission company, Statnett, on the topic of developing the power system through the green transition.

Hilde Tonne, Statnett CEO

It was a brilliant debate about national and international power systems in which we talked about the interdependence between nations and regions (e.g The North Sea Link), energy security in light of increased demand for electricity and the threat of terrorism and the war in Ukraine. We also discussed the huge levels of investment going forward to evolve critical infrastructure.

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About Nile

Nile is a Strategic Design team that helps deliver human-centred change in highly regulated industries. Our methods engage employees and customers with new technology and ways of working. Our outcomes help save money and improve business performance.

If you think we can help your teams, reply directly to this email (they come straight to my inbox), or reach out to someone specific via our website.

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