Good design is about designing products for the whole population, including those with disabilities or other impairments, the Design Council commented today (25 August 2000) as the DTI launched a new report on consumer products for the disabled market.

The report, A study of the difficulties disabled people have when using everyday consumer products, reveals new figures on the proportion of the UK population who find using everyday products difficult for reasons of disability or impairment.

The Design Council, which has carried out its own research into the issue, welcomed the report. Design Council Chief Executive Andrew Summers said: ‘The point about good design is that it enables products to be used by all sectors of the population, including those who are disabled or impaired in some way. Businesses do not seem to have woken up to the impact of this. Our research for example shows that only 29% of companies recognise that the ageing population is going to affect them in the future.’

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Note to editors

1. For media enquiries contact Luke Blair 020 7420 5239/0976 557880, Nell Cozens 020 7420 5273/07803 945260 or Helen Obi 020 7420 5241.

2. Further information, including research on design for the disabled an on the ageing population (DesignHorizons) can be found at www.design-council.org.uk

3. Examples of inclusively designed products can be found within Innovation Stories, accessible via the Design Council website (www.design-council.org.uk). The products featured here have all been awarded Millennium Products status by the Design Council in recognition of their innovation.