The curb cut effect
Accessibility is the intentional practice of designing and developing the digital and physical world for everyone, everywhere. Every major accessibility innovation began as a solution for a specific community and became a universal standard. The proof is what happened when we did.
The curb cut · 1970s
The curb cut movement began in Berkeley in the early 1970s, when disability advocates took to the streets with sledgehammers to create their own. When the ADA mandated them nationwide in 1990, they became standard infrastructure. Today parents with strollers, travelers, cyclists, and delivery workers use them without a second thought. What wheelchair users needed to cross a street is now the curb that millions depend on.
Closed captions
In 2011, the National Association of the Deaf sued Netflix for failing to caption its streaming content. The 2012 settlement built the infrastructure that became the backbone for multi-language support across hundreds of markets. Today millions turn captions on in noisy offices, cafes, and crowded commutes.
Nike FlyEase
Matthew Walzer wrote to Nike in 2012 at 16 because he could not tie his own shoes. Nike's response was the FlyEase, launched in 2015. Parents, older adults, and anyone who valued slipping in and out of a shoe quickly adopted it almost immediately. What one teenager needed, the world eventually wanted.
Voice-to-text
In 1964, Robert Weitbrecht invented the TTY, giving Deaf people a way to communicate over phone lines for the first time. That infrastructure evolved into SMS, text messaging, and the voice-to-text transcription built into every phone. A communication lifeline for one community became a daily habit for billions.
Audiobooks
The American Foundation for the Blind produced the first audiobooks in 1932 to give blind readers access to literature. Audible launched in 1997, and after Amazon acquired it in 2008, the market exploded. Commuters, parents, and multitaskers discovered the same thing blind readers had known for decades.
Voice control
Voice control was developed through the 1980s and 1990s as an assistive tool for people who could not use a keyboard or mouse. Siri arrived in 2011, Alexa in 2014, and the technology moved into the mainstream. Today it lives inside phones, cars, televisions, and home appliances.
Touch screens
Touch screen technology was developed through the 1970s and 1980s as a way to give people with motor impairments a more intuitive way to interact with computers. When Apple launched the iPhone in 2007, touch became the dominant interface for everything. A solution for one kind of hand made everything easier for every hand.
Bring the curb cut effect to your product
Tell us what you are shipping and where you want to be. We will follow up within one business day.