The Inclusive Code

There is opportunity for engagement in any project regardless of time and budget. The key is nurturing enduring relationships with disabled partners and demonstrating long-term commitment to transitioning to more inclusive practices.

Building capability in creating more inclusive work is valuable for all advertising practitioners by keeping your way of working current and effective. Even if you aren’t an expert, use your influence to represent their wisdom.

There are many competing demands on projects. Disabled consultants are aware of the constraints if they have been fully engaged on the project.

Making communications accessible for disabled people benefits everyone. Most accessibility requirements are simple and easily manageable from the start (e.g. avoiding all caps or using accessible colour combinations).

What is currently considered ‘well-crafted design’ doesn’t always consider the way disabled people process information.

People with learning disabilities, low levels of literacy, English language learners, Deaf and some older people can find standard written information difficult to process.

Representing disabled people is often overlooked unless we’re promoting products and services specifically for the disabled community. When included, it’s often as a ‘prop’ for main characters (e.g. to show how caring they are).

Disabled people consume all things that non-disabled people do, like clothing, food, transport, etc. We don’t need to wait until we’re advertising disability-specific products to include disabled people.

Lived experience does not automatically prepare someone to provide guidance.

Consultants need a range of skills to appropriately consult on how to connect with and represent the disabled community as a whole.

Imagine you’re the only woman in a meeting where people are debating whether a concept is feminist or not. People ask you to decide and your opinion will be used as the sole evidence for proceeding.

Testing gives us clues, not advice. Gathering insight from clues gained from a sub-culture often needs someone with lived-experience to be able to decipher them.

As with any kind of collaboration, the environment has a huge impact on the outputs. Consultants are often unable to meaningfully contribute because the environment itself is not accessible, or other team members do not have the skills required to effectively collaborate with disabled contributors.

Many disabled people would choose to keep their disability if presented with the choice.

Disabled people experience the world differently. This shapes their skills, interests, sense of identity, and perspectives – often in positive ways. Their diverse and nuanced insights and experiences challenge conventional narratives and fuel innovation, enriching society on a greater level.

Disabled people are disabled by the barriers that have been designed into the world around them, not by themselves. If the world was designed to be inclusive, disabled people could operate with ease.

A disability is just one part of a person’s identity. Disabled people are multi-dimensional, and the other aspects of their identity influence how they experience their disability.

Imagine you’re reviewing a customer persona and the only characteristic included is age. How might this limit your ability to effectively design solutions for this customer group?

Disabilities can manifest in a multitude of ways including cognitive, emotional, sensory, and physical variations.
Showing limited depictions of disability can contribute to a lack of awareness and a sense of invisibility. 

When championing disabled people as inspirational simply for completing daily life, we put them in the category of ‘other’ and make their entire story about overcoming disability.

Imagine you’re not a morning person, but every time you get up early people congratulate you for it. How does it make you feel?

Everyone relates to their disability differently. For some people, their disability is core to their sense of identity, for others, it’s not a defining factor at all.

Imagine if everyone only ever praised you for one part of your life — a part that isn’t particularly important to you. How might this feel limiting?

Disabled people are often invited to consult on projects for free, with their input alone considered sufficient compensation. Additionally, consultation is often shallow, seeking early endorsement rather than support to deliver an inclusive end result.

Imagine being asked for your casual comments on a project that’s about to start – which you say sounds like a good project. A few months later you see an end result that does not resemble early concepts and you’re listed as a consultant.