Accessible-Design Standards for Consumer Products Developed in ISO/TC 159/SC 4/WG 10

Abstract

ISO/TC 159/SC 4/WG 10, entitled “Accessible Design for Consumer Products”, has been developing a series of accessible-design standards since 2007. Accessible design is a design of products, services and built environments focused on diverse users to maximize the number of potential users who can readily use them in diverse contexts. Consumer products are categorized as a major group of products to which accessible design could be applied most effectively because they should be usable for everyone regardless of their abilities/characteristics, without prior training or knowledge about the usage. Furthermore, different kinds of consumer products are often used at the same time in the home. Therefore, it is desirable that the user-interfaces of those products be “standardized” to make them easy to use for every potential user. This paper introduces the present activities of the WG for those who are interested in developing products, services and built environments with enhanced accessibility for everyone.