Build digital products for everyone

This recent article on Google and accessibility covers most of what should be done/obvious but isn’t
How Google Designs for the blind | CNN Money, Heather Kelly, August 2015

"Every person should be able to use our products and enjoy them," Palmaro said.

The key is enjoying products, that is pretty high on the pyramid of user experience hierarchy of needs and you won’t get there if you don’t have an accessible, usable, useful product.

Think of accessibility when building products

“Weber collaborates with Google's thousands of engineers and designers to make them think of accessibility while building products. She encourages employees to design with empathy, and to drop certain assumptions, like that everyone can touch an Android device or hear the sound an app makes.”

Aging populations are a growing audience/market

“Designing for accessibility is a smart investment, especially as an aging population begins to experience failing eyesight and hearing.

Improving the user experience with enhanced or added modes of use is better for everyone

Features built for accessibility can end up improving the products for mainstream users. Auto-complete features were originally created for people with disabilities who had difficulty typing. Now it's built in to most smartphones. Screen magnification and closed captioning tools are often used by people without disabilities.

Google have used the following methods to increase accessibility:

Hands on workshops – mobile and web accessibility
Awareness day
Test tools with internal staff who have a disability
Bring in users for research studies.

Also Myth busted - Blind and visually impaired people don't use smartphones

“Many people not immersed in the topic think that blind people can not use smartphones equipped with touch screens, because they can not navigate. This is in fact, completely wrong. Blind people can use any standard applications using VoiceOver in iOS, which allows you to use your smartphone, even when they cannot see the screen.”

Source: 5 pro tips for designing for disabilities | Creative Bloq | August 2015