BT big button phone

BT's big button telephone was deigned with visually inplaired people in mind. It has been an enormous success with those intended and surprisingly with normal sighted people. Designing practical, yet stylish products are a neccessity for the expanding 'gray' market that need to overcome diminishing sight and dexterity. BT is one business that has recognised the market potential of products who's inclusive design can be beneficial to other users and consumers. One of the most usefull areas of te design process that BT's design consultancy Alloy took advantage of was testing a working prototype with both impaired consumers and non-impaired users and adapted te product to better suit both their needs. It is lucky i think that BT was able to develop a design like this that is suitable and in fact beneficiary to all users, this of course is very rare, not all products, or design is as easily adaptable.

Encouraged by the sales, BT commissioned the first cordless big button phone - the Freeestyle 60. Again they used the assessment of disabled people, creating their own Special Needs Unit. "Freestyle 60 os the first cordless product to employ a keypad whose key size and pitch has been proven on corded phones to be the ergonoic optimum. The main key chatacters are white on a dark background for maximum contrast and legibility ... The handset's waisted curves were modified to emphasise the large keypad, and the contoured cross-section fits comfortably in hands of all sizes." (Evamy and Roberts, 2004). BT have brought inclusivity right into the design process and make sure that their designs are tried and tested before they are marketed. This i believe is one of the reasons that teh product was so successful.

Some companies will not strive to include testing on visually impaired and disabled people as they are more interested in the speed of production and getting their products out on the shop floor, therefore the majority of products, especially electronics do not provide easy access. There is an arguement that BT's product range is so large that it can afford to produce a variety of 'dedicated' and 'specialised' products. However Bt do not see it like this. they have gone further in their inclusive products than any other, more global brands, and are definitly reaping the rewards!



Evamy, Michael & Roberts, Lucienne. In Sight: a guide to design with low vision in mind, examining the notion of inclusive design, exploring teh subject within a commercial and social context. Rotovision 2004. P 62.