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Designing inclusive retail stores for accessibility

Senior mother with shopping bags laughing and talking to her daughter while pushing her in a wheelchair in a shopping centre.

Designing inclusive retail and shopping spaces for accessibility It is no secret that the rise of E-commerce, quickly accelerated by changes in people’s spending habits and the realities of our world economy, has resulted in physical retail spaces suffering losses in both consumer and business interest. However, while shopping for our favorite brands has never […]

How cafés, pubs and restaurants can better serve disabled patrons

A young Caucasian man who is a wheelchair user eats on the terrace of a restaurant with a Caucasian male friend. The friend assists by cutting his food up with a knife and fork.

How can make coffee shops inclusive and accessible? One of our team’s favorite subjects for blogs, (like this one), is using our combined knowledge of accessibility to make recommendations to business owners about how they can become more inclusive to current and (potentially future) customers with disabilities.  Whether that’s by speaking about issues we regularly […]

Why the parking lot is the first indicator of your site’s accessibility

An accessible parking bay with the international symbol of access (person in a wheelchair) painted on the tarmac in yellow.

Why the parking lot is the first indicator of your site’s accessibility As the point of entry for the majority of public facilities, the accessibility of a site’s parking lot has the capacity to shape the perception of an entire facility in the eyes of disabled visitors. In this blog, we will explain some of […]

The benefit to providing accessibility and sensory guides for site visitors

A photograph of the front cover of the Access Guide which Direct Access produced for Cannock Chase. The cover has a dark green colour scheme with a mixture of yellow and white text. It reads "Cannock Chase access guide. Welcome to the Access Guide for Cannock Chase". Underneath this text is the Cannock Chase logo. A photograph on the cover shows a young white woman with downs syndrome riding a bike with stabilisers joyfully. Next to her getting in close for a photo is a white male companion who is off his bike and holding it with one hand. He is also smiling happily. Behind them is a bike trail through some woods.

The benefit to providing accessibility and sensory guides for your site Whether you are a site owner providing an attraction to the public or are the custodian of a heritage site/museum, Accessibility and Sensory Guides are fast-becoming a standard of the overall visitor experience in public recreation, entertainment, and educational settings. Working very much in […]

The Direct Access Guide to Accessible Wayfinding

WC and shower sign in the forest. WC for disabled. Beach resort. Sea and beach in the background.

When we hear the phrase “wayfinding”, what most frequently comes to mind is the application and availability of signage in a particular environment, which is normally used to signify elements of a space that require visitor attention, or offer directional guidance in complex environments, such as shopping centers, hospitals, museums, theatres, apartment buildings, public parks, […]

How inclusive and accessible design leads to future-proof housing developments

A modern living room space with artificial plants decorating a space which includes a coffee table and red armchairs.

What is inclusive design? In construction, inclusive design is a sustainable, inclusive, and cost-effective design practice, yet is also massively underutilised. For firms that do use inclusive design when approaching new builds, it presents an opportunity for site owners to create built environments that are massively beneficial to every individual in society who wants to […]