Innovating for people with disabilities

There are over 500 million disabled people in the world, due to mental, physical or sensory impairments. With the ageing of the population, this figure is rising, and the social integration of these people is becoming a major political issue.

From an industrial point of view, the design of products for the disabled is a sector to be conquered: there is currently little innovation and little competition, the market has a large and growing volume, and it benefits from regulatory (e.g.: law of February 11, 2005 in France) and financial (assumption of part of the costs by the community) incentives. Last but not least, since designing for the disabled is of undeniable social interest, your company stands to gain a great deal in terms of image.

To enter the independent living market successfully, you need to ask yourself the following questions:

• What is your role as a designer with regard to disabled people?

• How do you successfully design products for such a complex need?