People with accessibility needs want, quite rightly, to be heard.
Movements such as No voice unheard, no right ignored and organisations like The Inclusivity Project alone demonstrate the importance of people with accessibility needs having their thoughts and opinions sent out into the world.
One of the best ways that those with accessibility needs – whether a visual, auditory or mobility impairment, or neurological, cognitive, psychological, learning or medical needs – can have their voices heard is by taking part in market research.
In fact, accessibility in research is making its way further into the spotlight than ever before, so if you’re looking for ways to get your voice heard, the time to take part in market research and share your voice with businesses and brands is now!
You can help give accessibility a voice by taking part in market research that:
1. Explores the products and services that are created for those with accessibility needs.
There are a wide range of products and services created to support those with accessibility needs; and these can’t be improved for those who need them without their feedback!
For example, if you have a mobility impairment and require a wheelchair or walking aid, you could be invited to take part in a focus group where you can share what you like and dislike about the aids you currently use, or even have the chance try out a brand’s latest design and give your feedback on it so that it can be designed in the best possible way.
Alternatively, you might be asked to participate in user experience testing for a newly designed digital communication aid, so that researchers can see how you use the product, and where they might be able to make improvements for you and other users.
In short, by sharing your voice on these products and services, you’ll be helping to make them better for yourself and others who need to use them!
2. Aims to find out how everyday products and services can be improved for those with accessibility needs.
As stated by The Drum, “An accessible brand is developed and designed so all people can access and experience it in the same way,” and “We must shift our industry-wide approach to embrace a universal culture of inclusive design.”
This means that more brands are looking for people with accessibility needs to share their opinions on their everyday products and services to find out how they can make them more inclusive for all.
A fantastic real-life example of this was M&S’s Easy Dressing kidswear range, which was designed with input of 300 parents over two years!
Rebecca Garner, M&S’s kidswear designer, shared that “Parents passionately told us that disabilities don’t define their children, so the adaptations shouldn’t define their clothes. It’s why all the products are inclusively designed and modelled closely on our main collection.”
Another example is where accompanied shops and other forms of market research have resulted in the UK’s top supermarkets have introduced quiet hours, where music is turned off, intercom announcements are reduced, and lighting is dimmed to accommodate those with sensory impairments.
This extends to website accessibility, too. More and more businesses are inviting people with accessibility needs to try out their website as part of user experience testing research to see how they can make the website experience the same for those individuals as everyone else. The BBC, Patreon and Eventbrite are just a few great examples!
By taking part in these kinds of projects, you’ll be sharing your own voice and representing the voices of others with accessibility needs to ensure that the products and services you come across every day are as usable and enjoyable for you as they are for others.
Ready to have your voice heard?
We’d love to welcome you into our participant community here at Angelfish Opinions! As well as accessibility-specific research like the examples described above, we have a ton of other projects that you can apply to take part in.
In fact, accessibility in research is a major priority for us, and helping the brands and businesses we work with to ensure their projects are accessible to all is one of our top considerations during the participant recruitment process!
Simply fill out our registration form in as much detail as you can, and you’ll be the first to hear about any new projects that come in that we’re sure you’ll enjoy!
