Beyond Accessibility

When you think of accessibility needs - does your mind jump to ‘wheelchairs’, ramps, lifts and ‘disabled’ toilets? Do you think of colour contrasts, font types and alt text for the images on your website?

Universal Design is a practice and a lense that encompasses the diversity of the human being, including those with disabilities. When we are designing and advocating for customers - we need better ways of evaluating if our products, services and experiences are serving a wide range of human needs, beyond the centre of the bell curve.

Join us for this practical training seminar where we’ll be working with 3 of New Zealand’s leading accessibility advocates to move our collective practice towards a more universal application and impact.

During the session we’ll be exploring:

• Accessibility as a lense to create opportunities for more inclusive and universal design and advocacy outcomes for customers
• How physical spaces shape our lived experience and the design decisions that are most impactful in increasing rather than limiting access to them
• How to reduce barriers to accessing digital interfaces designers and developers inadvertently create to make our digital world a universal and inclusive one.

What you’ll take away:

• Mental models and frameworks to grow your universal design practice
• Practical tips & tools to make your designs more inclusive and reduce accessibility barriers
• an appreciation for the range and depth of meaning behind the term ‘accessibility needs’
• An increased level of accessibility literacy
• A view of the world as you didn’t know it
• Connections with an energised crowd of like-minded people, ready to design a more inclusive world.

Who should attend:

• UX/UI designers & developers
• Urban designers & product managers
• CX, Service designers & systems innovators

About your trainers:

Dr. Chandra Harrison - Chandra is the Managing Director of a digital accessibility consultancy that works across NZ. She has 20+ years experience in UX, usability and accessibility in NZ working for a variety of government agencies, financial institutions, and NGOs; the US working for Siemens; and the UK working for the likes of Qualcomm, Vodafone and the BBC. Chandra returned home to NZ six years ago bringing a passion for helping people understand and implement digital accessibility and usability. Access Advisors' mission is to support businesses to incorporate accessibility awareness throughout discovery, design, development and delivery.

Grace Stratton - Grace, 21, is a wheelchair user, and founder of All is for All, an accessibility consultancy service that’s worked with leading brands such as; Global Brands Group, Colenso and more. She is also a Forbes 30 Under 30 honouree.

Vivian Taylor - Vivian Naylor is an ardent advocate of Universal Design, campaigning for a safe and inclusive built environment for everyone for two decades. She has a lived experience of disability following a road accident whilst working as an entomologist in Bolivia, South America. As a Barrier Free Advisor and Educator with CCS Disability Action, Vivian has provided advice to Councils in the Auckland region on countless major infrastructure projects – buildings, streetscapes, transport. Many Auckland architects and others in the building industry come to her for accessible design, advising on architectural plans to assist in the Building Consent process. She also served on Auckland Council’s Urban Design Panel and is a member of Auckland Transport’s Accessibility Groups, giving advice on their Public Transport and Capital Projects.

Timings

NZT:

08:00am - Doors open for networking

08:30am - Training Seminar begins

10:00am - Training Seminar ends

AEST:

06:00am - Doors open for networking

06:30am - Training Seminar begins

08:00am - Training Seminar ends

All of our seminars run on an interactive conference platform that allows you to connect and network in your own time. Join us for this event to experience 'virtual in-person' networking for yourself! To see if your system is compatible ahead of time you can do a systems check here.

Please note that full participation in this event requires the use of a mouse or trackpad. If this is not available to you but you would  still like to attend, please message sarah@cxcollective.co.nz so we can try and find a solution.