Companies and public bodies have a responsibility under The Disability Discrimination Act (DDA) to remove "physical and intellectual barriers" to access. If someone cannot read your material, then this is an intellectual barrier. DDA has serious implications for businesses, service providers and public facing organisations. Some are very obvious, we are sure your building is now full of new toilets, lifts, ramps, etc. and the business has signed up to some great policy that is bang up to the minute on disability and diversity. All of this is good, but what about your literature?

• Is it accessible?
• Is it easy to read?
• Can you have accessible easy to read literature and maintain the highest standards of design?

We have answers and solutions to these questions, our speaker David Lucas is an access auditor providing guidance and advice on visual impairment to organisations such as Guide Dogs, The RNIB, Gateshead and South Tyneside Councils.

Sally Bayliss RNIB Low Vision Liaison officer says: “RNIB would very much like you meet David, his solutions to accessible print are very refreshing and will enable your organisation to produce accessible and professional content across a range of media”.

David joined us at The Studio to help businesses, clients and bodies such as Housing Associations make their public facing literature and web sites accessible. In the course of some work with Sunderland Housing Group David began to identify a need. Until now, organisations have had no legal obligations regarding accessibility, David realised main stream advertising agencies, or print suppliers have no tradition of taking such things into account, in contrast to this theStudio’s members have had clients with access needs for some 15 years and is therefore in many ways they are very much ahead of the game.

At theStudio Cooperative we believe you can have good design solutions that are easy to read and accessible. What is more we know that both legally and ethically you should.

Should you be interested in any future meetings or events we may host please let us know. We have already been asked by other organisations to present the Accessibility in Design content at their events.

More information can be found at www.accessibilityindesign.co.uk