More than 1.85 million people in Ontario and 4.4 million people in Canada have a disability. This number is on the rise as our population ages. Accessibility is no longer an option - it’s a necessity. RGD is helping to lead the way to a more accessible province for everyone through a partnership with the Ontario government.

Through the EnAbling Change Partnership Program, RGD worked with the Accessibility Directorate of Ontario to develop tools to educate the design community on accessible design. AccessAbility: A Practical Handbook on Accessible Graphic Design will help practitioners meet requirements in the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act.

For more information on how to improve accessibility for people with disabilities, visit www.ontario.ca/AccessON or RGD's AccessAbility website at www.rgd-accessibledesign.com. 

AccessAbility: A Practical Handbook on Accessible Graphic Design

Available in both printed and accessible PDF formats, the Handbook is free to anyone interested in designing more accessible and inclusive communications. Covering print, web and environmental design, it offers ideas on how to do better design – what factors to consider, what questions to ask, and where to find more information. Also included are accessibly-designed case studies contributed by RGD Members, such as a traveller’s handbook for York Region Transit, CNIB’s website and the signage and wayfinding for Toronto’s Pearson Airport – Terminal 1.

“Accessibility is about much more than ramps and automatic doors,” says Madeleine Meilleur, Minister of Community and Social Services and Minister Responsible for Accessibility. “How we receive and process the information around us determines, in large part, the extent to which we are able to participate in the world in which we live. The work that RGD is doing to promote accessible information and design is important because it will offer designers the tools and insight they need to begin to break down barriers in these areas.”

If you have any questions about this project and/or you would like to obtain copies of the printed Handbook, contact Christina, , 1.888.274.3668 x 24.