As designers and developers, we are challenged every day to create products that solve problems and make lives easier. However every choice you make can result in situations where you lock individuals out of services, apps, and most importantly, their voice. At Smartbox we design tools that meets some of the most critical needs of people who cannot speak, we give disabled people a voice to advocate for themselves. By providing something so fundamental to our society, we are designing for independence, inclusion and safety.

What will people take away from this talk:

– A greater understanding of disability, complex access needs, and technology
– User testing with complex disabilities
– Considerations for making a design process more inclusive
– How design choices should begin with accessibility
– Building safety nets to prevent users becoming stuck

About James

James Reichelt (he/him) is a designer and creator from Bristol, UK.
He has over 10 years experience working in accessibility. Since 2015 he has worked as a designer with Smartbox Assistive Technology and has been the UI/UX Design Lead since 2021, creating clean, accessible interfaces, devices and tools that give non-speaking people a voice, striving to make a more equitable and fair world for disabled people. Building around the unique challenges of complex access and cognitive disability, James is also focused on growing the company’s UX practice and advocating for co-design principles across products and services.
Graduating with a B.A. Hons in Fine Art, James soon worked for charities and within the third sector delivering digital inclusion and creative support for small businesses before focusing on print, web and accessibility. In addition, James has continued to create art and music as well as making contributions to independent tabletop games.