Investigating perceptions of manufacturers and retailers to inclusive design

Abstract

This paper describes a study into industry perceptions of barriers and drivers for inclusive design. The study investigated perceptions of manufacturers and retailers of consumer product in the United Kingdom (UK), and compared their perceptions with those of companies in the United States (US) and Japan. It was found that the perceptions of major drivers for inclusive design were similar for manufacturers and retailers in the UK, but the perceptions of barriers to inclusive design differed between manufacturers and retailers. Industry attitudes towards legislation or government regulations in the UK differed from those in the US and Japan. The study concluded that ‘perception barriers’ form the majority of the barriers and were the most significant, followed by ‘technical barriers’ and then ‘organizational barriers.’ Consequently strategies should focus on raising awareness to overcome perception barriers, and providing supportive tools to overcome technical barriers.