The Business Case for Inclusive Design
Global First Report Launched with partners Microsoft and Adobe
A new report by CfID, with partners Microsoft and Adobe, ‘Designing for Everyone’ is full of information to help you get inclusive design over the line
Dr Manisha Amin, CEO of Centre for Inclusive Design, said,
“Inclusive design is design that considers the full range of human diversity with respect to ability, language, culture, gender, age and other forms of human difference.”
After calls from customers of Centre for Inclusive Design to identify the business benefits, they realised this research had never been done.
Along with partners Adobe and Microsoft, they commissioned PwC to identify how organisations and industries can gain economic benefit from inclusive design.
The outcome is a powerful resource for anyone looking to build a business case for incorporating inclusive design in to their work.
“We knew instinctively economic benefits exist, but the outcomes from the report show an incredible, largely untapped, opportunity.” said Dr Amin.
“Inclusively designed products and services have the potential to reach four times more customers than those that are not designed inclusively.”
Jeremy Thorpe, Partner and Chief Economist, PwC, said,
“Inclusive design is a no-regrets process that creates significant benefits. It is an overlooked step in maximising the potential of Australian business and ensuring a more productive Australia.”
David Masters, Corporate Affairs Director, Microsoft Australia, said,
“Accessibility is often focused on compliance, and while that is incredibly important, this report clearly shows that inclusion drives economic benefit too. Embedding inclusion in the upfront design phase ensures organisations are delivering products and services for everyone. Inclusive design is driving innovation at Microsoft and is a concept that all organisations should be embracing.”
Suzanne Steele, Managing Director, Adobe Australia and New Zealand, said,
“Through our partnership with the Centre for Inclusive Design and Microsoft, we want to raise awareness of the importance for organisations to include a diverse range of voices and perspectives within their teams in order to reflect the diversity of the Australian population in their products and services.”
The report analyses three key industries in Australia – education, retail and financial services – that can benefit from implementing inclusive design and drive financial, economic and social improvements.
Among these benefits, businesses have the opportunity to increase their revenue by growing their target markets and include Australians vulnerable to exclusion, who possess over $40 billion in annual disposable income.
You can access the full report and a summary here: