RGD launches practical handbook on accessible graphic design
TORONTO, Nov. 16 /CNW/ - The Association of Registered Graphic Designers of Ontario (RGD), with support from the Government of Ontario, has released ACCESS ABILITY: A Practical Handbook on Accessible Graphic Design. The official launch took place November 12, at RGD's national DesignThinkers conference, in Toronto.
"Imagine your life cut off from the ability to access information," says Lionel Gadoury R.G.D., President, RGD. "Professional graphic designers strive to make communications clear and compelling, turning ideas into interactions. Inclusivity is essential to effective design and through this program, RGD is helping designers as they work to make our world more navigable and easier to understand."
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 R.G.D. 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."
The printed version of ACCESS ABILITY will be distributed to all RGD professional members and to post-secondary schools offering graphic design across Ontario. It is now available as a pdf on RGD's Access-Ability website at www.rgd-accessibledesign.com.
RGD
The Association of Registered Graphic Designers of Ontario is the self-regulatory, professional body for graphic designers in the province. It sets standards of professional practice in graphic design and accredits graphic design practitioners, managers and educators who qualify with the exclusive designations Registered Graphic Designer and R.G.D.
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If you have any questions about this project and/or you would like to obtain copies of the printed handbook, contact RGD by phone at 1.888.274.3668 or by email at [email protected].
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