Packaging and Accessibility: A growing phenomenon

Posted by We Are Amnet on April 24th, 2019

Accessible packaging is a growing phenomenon; creating and ensuring equal opportunity within the context of content delivery. Accessible packaging is now governed by federal and international regulations. Amnet is at the forefront of championing digital equality, providing expertise in implementation, scalability and compliance with accessibility regulations. With the relative percentage of Generation X continuing to increase in relation to the wider population, accessible packaging is naturally becoming more significant.

Accessible packaging provides a framework for packaging design that takes into account the varying physical and sensory capabilities of users. This ensures that it can be used by a wide range of users including those with visual, hearing, motor or cognitive disabilities as well as the elderly, the temporary disabled and those with no disability at all.Accessible packaging is packaging that everyone can use easily, safely, comfortably and with satisfaction, irrespective of age, perceptual and cognitive ability, level of physical functioning, language and culture.

Accessibility is cutting across market segments. For example, in the food and drinks market, there are concerns that inaccessible packaging is stopping people from having well-balanced diets, especially with regards to fresh produce. Innocent has recently expanded its range of containers, moving away from traditional cartons with small screw top lids and unwieldy rectangular bodies and instead developed packaging with larger lids and a more ergonomic shape which allows for easier handling.

At Amnet, accessibility contributes into all that we do. Therefore we provide a wide range of accessibility services not just in packaging but across services.

Accessible ePUB3 formats represent a significant leap forward in the production of accessible books. We provide services in the generation of accessible metadata, ensuring logical reading order, semantic structuring and tagging tables.

Amnet’s production of accessible versions of PDF, Word and PPT allow users to navigate and interpret the appropriate sequence of text in the document and recognise tables, formulas, line art and images. Some features include enabling complete navigation, identifying decorative images, writing alternative descriptions, examining colour contrast and font size and enabling screen readers to read out aloud.

To provide alternative text descriptions, Amnet ensures content can be changed into other formats such as Braille, Speech, Symbols and simpler language. Amnet also provides a range of services to increase accessibility for those with visual and hearing difficulties. This includes subtitles and closed captions, transcription and audio sync and podcast transcription. We have an exclusive proprietary platform which is compatible with audio synchronisation features.

Amnet offers accessibility testing, which acts as a subset of our Usability Testing service. This service includes a full accessibility check, read out loud using Acrobat Reader and WCAG compliance as well as screen reader compatibility. Amnet also offers a Website Auditing and Compliance service wherein a four-tiered approach is taken in order to arrive at custom plans to ensure full accessibility compliance.

To find out more about accessible packaging and how Amnet can support your packaging initiatives, please contact us at hello@weareamnet.com