The blind person attempting to make an online purchase. The young girl who cannot speak due to a cognitive disability. The man confined to his home due to permanent injury. The single mother with a long-term illness who struggles to feed her family. The neurodivergent jobseeker trying to launch their career. Digital access to employment, education, healthcare, companionship and security are essential in today’s world. With one in six people worldwide currently living with some form of a disability, the term "outcast" covers a wide continuum of critical life impacts. As the number of people with disabilities increases, poorly designed products and services risk alienating this important and growing population. “Digital outcasts” is a term used to describe those left behind the technological curve, due either to a lack of accessibility or the social, economic, and political attributes often associated with disability. Through a grass roots approach to innovation, however, digital outcasts are taking action to transform their lives, homes, and communities. The legacy of human-computer interaction is scaffolded upon the efforts of the disenfranchised user, evinced by the role disability has historically played as a catalyst for design innovation. Citing real-world case studies spanning law, healthcare, creative arts, and social science, Digital Outcasts 2e examines the emergent cultural impact of inclusive design on today’s industrial landscape. Taking into account new legal and technological perspectives, this revision stands as an update on the progress we’ve made—and how far we’ve yet to go.
1. Who Are Digital Outcasts?
2. Interpreting Ability
3. Beyond Accessibility To Inclusion
4. Accessibility and the Real World
5. Defining Inclusive Innovation
6. Where Mind and Body Meet
7. Inclusive Design As Social Responsibility
8. Tomorrows Digital Outcasts
Kel Smith is a speaker, author, instructor, and practitioner with nearly thirty years of experience working in the design and technology sectors. Mr. Smith has spearheaded accessibility efforts in such areas as medical devices, healthcare informatics, enterprise software, and workplace culture. Mr. Smith launched Aisle Won, a nutrition support app that connects low-income populations with sources of accessible and affordable locally grown food.
Mr. Smith has delivered over 100 presentations in six countries on the topic of digital accessibility and social innovation. His credits include talks for the Centre for Health Literacy, the Royal National Institute of the Blind, the Art Institute of Chicago, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, and Stanford University, among many others. Mr. Smiths work has been featured on CBC Radios The Current,” National Public Radio, and the BBC.
For nine years, Mr. Smith served on the board of directors for Inglis Foundation, the Philadelphia regions largest provider of accessible and affordable health services. He also served two terms as Vice Chair of the Philadelphia chapter of ACM/SIG-CHI for computer-human interaction. Mr. Smith is an adjunct lecturer at Rutgers University, teaching courses on digital design and the social impact of inclusive innovation.
