Designability

Designability A UK charity that designs to make the inaccessible accessible. We invent solutions that remove barriers disabled people face everyday.

Designability is a small, national charity that enables disabled children and adults to live with greater independence. Our vision is a future where every disabled person has the products they want to live the life they choose. Our expertise is in user centred design, creating products with and for disabled people to improve and enrich their lives. This is not just about products people need, but

products they want to use. We create great looking, easy-to-use products that go beyond basic functionality. And we partner with industry to help as many people as we can – we’ve transformed over 300,000 lives to date. As a charity, our mission is get the right products into the hands of those who need them. We build prototypes and develop new products in response to specific needs, in the hope that our products will inspire new markets to blossom. We do not receive any statutory funding, so all of our work relies on voluntary donations. Please note: we are unable to sell to the USA or Canada due to the high cost of product liability insurance.

Accessibility shouldn’t be an afterthought.It can and should be part of the design process from the beginning, so people...
29/05/2026

Accessibility shouldn’t be an afterthought.

It can and should be part of the design process from the beginning, so people like Hammas aren’t left behind.

What barriers and challenges do you face in your day-to-day life? Share your experiences in our current project The Unfair Index and influence what we work on next: https://bit.ly/_TheUnfairIndex

Let’s design a fairer future, together.

Image descriptions:
• Hammas is beside a lower, accessible desk, in his powered wheelchair. He turns to look at the camera. Text: Accessibility shouldn’t be an afterthought. I face challenges which limit me socialising, travelling and living the life I want to live.
• Hammas driving his powered wheelchair along a small street in the Northern Quarter. Text: I want to hang out with my friends in the Northern Quarter in Manchester, but there are a lot of venues I can’t get into. The ones I can access are often a lot more expensive, it feels like a disability ‘tax’.
• Hammas is sat waiting for assistance beside an aeroplane. Text: I feel lucky I can travel, but it can be incredibly stressful to get from A to B. The support and transferred offered for wheelchair users often don’t go to plan and my wheelchair gets damaged.
• Hammas’s wheelchair is folded up and stowed inside an inaccessible vehicle. Text: Services are sometimes listed as being ‘accessible’ but this turns out to be false advertising. I face this a lot with transport and once again must try and adapt.
• Hammas drives his powered wheelchair along a street. Text: I was offered a job, but it turned out that the toilet facilities weren’t big enough for my wheelchair. Fortunately, they were able to accommodate me in an alternative building which has good access. Sometimes a barrier can be resolved which is a huge relief.
• Hammas in his powered wheelchair, beside his brother, who is also a wheelchair user. An aeroplane is behind them. Text: More changes need to happen to make the world fairer for everyone. Join me in sharing your views in The Unfair Index (see caption).

Even small movements are important, without having to driveHaving a Wizzybug powered wheelchair is not just about young ...
27/05/2026

Even small movements are important, without having to drive

Having a Wizzybug powered wheelchair is not just about young children learning to ‘drive’. They offer the opportunity to reach things they couldn’t before, to explore the world from a new perspective and to experience the sensation of movement.

Most of all, we want kids to be able to play!

Some children may only ever accidentally move the joystick, but this will still enable them to experience making their Wizzybug move which is beneficial and unlocks the potential for their development.

Isn’t that amazing?

Image description: A child using a Wizzybug powered wheelchair indoors with a massive smile on her face. Text reads: No need to drive! Wizzybug powered wheelchairs are for play, not just mobility. Apply for free today.

26/05/2026

We have some big news about our Accessible Pushchair.

In the next 12 months, you will have the opportunity to purchase one in the UK as part of a limited run.

Register your interest to be the first to know when they become available: https://designability.org.uk/accessible-pushchair-register-your-interest/

We had hoped to find a manufacturer who would collaborate with us on this, but this hasn’t happened, so we’re going to do it ourselves.

We will need to take on social finance and sell the product for £699.

To answer a few queries:

• This product will be suitable from birth and will have a carrycot/bassinet option.
• We understand that not all families will be able to afford this so we are exploring ways we may be able to make some available on a charitable scheme.
• This limited production run will be UK only, but we will be exploring ways in which we might be able to make it available overseas in the future.

Please let us know if you have any questions in the comments.

Video description: A montage of different parents and carers using the accessible pushchair out and about, with a voiceover from Jim Bowes, Designability’s Chief Executive, who you see towards the end of the video, walking along while talking to camera.

Imagine you need to take a trip into town. How easy is it, on a scale of 1-10 (10 being the easiest it could be)?For Zoe...
22/05/2026

Imagine you need to take a trip into town. How easy is it, on a scale of 1-10 (10 being the easiest it could be)?

For Zoe, what could be a straightforward activity, is made difficult by a series of oversights and a lack of consideration.

Bushes blocking the pavement, inaccessible information, obstructions when crossing the road, confusing signage and yet more obstacles made her day stressful.

Getting around outside of the home can be so challenging that people choose not to go out at all. But it shouldn’t have to be that way. Not if we think and design differently.

Share your frustrations and everyday challenges in The Unfair Index: https://bit.ly/_TheUnfairIndex

Let’s design a fairer future, together.

Image descriptions:
1. Zoe stands facing the camera while outside, she smiles broadly, while holding a white cane. Text reads: Going out and about isn’t straightforward for everyone. Here’s just a few things I found challenging on a trip into town.
2. Low hanging branches over a pavement, with Zoe’s assistance dog’s head just in shot. Text reads: First was the overgrown bushes hanging over the pavement, causing overhead obstacles.
3. A bus timetable on a lamppost, the image taken from below. Text reads: Next was the bus timetable placed too high up to see.
4. A white car on the road, blocking the drop kerb. Text reads: Then there was a car parked by the tactile crossing and drop kerb.
5. Zoe’s assistance dog stands in a lift. You can see the button options alongside a store guide, but they don’t match. Text reads: Once at the shop the store guide in the lift didn’t match the buttons. What do I select?
6. You see a basket in the middle of a shop aisle, obstructing the path of Zoe and her assistance dog. Text reads: People had left baskets in the middle of aisles.
7. Zoe beside a shop and metal fencing outside, using her white cane as she walks, while her assistance dog stands to the side. Text reads: These things might not be a problem for others, but they are barriers for me. Small changes and considerations would make a big difference.

Adapting the Play and See for children on hospital wards to enjoy.The Play and See, designed by Charlie Hooper-Williams,...
20/05/2026

Adapting the Play and See for children on hospital wards to enjoy.

The Play and See, designed by Charlie Hooper-Williams, generates real-time animations and light in response to music play.

We’re pleased to have worked in partnership with RUH Bath to create a way for it to be portable, so more families can enjoy it on the children’s ward.

Tom from our team has developed a bespoke cabinet to host the interactive piano keyboard making it easy to transport as and when needed.

The Play and See is currently on display at this week’s Bath Digital Festival. You can go and see it in person until the end of Thursday 21 May at Newark Works, Bath.

Image descriptions:

1. Tom from Designability sits at the Play & See with his hand on the keyboard. Text reads: Play & See, creating a way to enjoy and interactive music experience on children’s hospital wards.
2. The cabinet partway through the build, set-up in a garden. Text reads: The Process, Tom from our team developed a bespoke cabinet to host the piano which generates real-time animations and light when played.
3. The final Play & See set-up on the completed cabinet unit. Text reads: The result. A portable device which can be enjoyed by children and their families, to offer moments of distraction, self-expression and calm.
4. Jim, chief executive of Designability, tries out the Play & See, while the creator, Charlie Hooper-Williams and Tom from Designability stand alongside. Text reads: See it in action! The Play & See is on display at Bath Digital Festival this week. See caption for details.

Come and join our team at Designability.We are looking for a highly organised finance and operations officer to support ...
19/05/2026

Come and join our team at Designability.

We are looking for a highly organised finance and operations officer to support the day-to-day admin functions across finance and operations.

This is a varied role which would suit someone who is detail-oriented, commercially aware, and confident managing multiple priorities in a busy environment.

We are at an exciting point in our nearly 60-year history. We have launched our biggest ever research project, The Unfair Index, exploring everyday barriers disabled people face. We will be launching a new international award winning, world-first product, the Accessible Pushchair. And we continue to deliver our flagship service, the Wizzybug Scheme, providing free powered wheelchairs to very young disabled children across the UK.

Find out more about the finance and operations officer role and apply over on our website: https://designability.org.uk/about-us/careers/finance-and-operations-officer/

Image description: A person sits in front of a laptop and additional computer screen with their hands on the keyboard. On the computer screens are spreadsheets. The text reads: Could you be our new Finance and Operations Officer?

15/05/2026

Do you want to influence our next design for disabled people? The next accessibility feature that helps thousands? Better products that can be used by everyone?

Then we want to hear from you. Tell us the challenges you face as a disabled person, or a carer for a disabled person: https://bit.ly/_TheUnfairIndex

Everyone who takes part in The Unfair Index will be entered into a draw, per survey, to receive a small thank you payment of £100, £50 or £10 voucher.

Let’s design a fairer future, together.

Video description: You see clips of a few examples of products that Designability have worked on to date, including an accessible electric vehicle charging unit, the accessible pushchair, accessible vehicle design features and Wizzybug powered wheelchairs for young children. You then see a series of clips of disabled people interacting with the team to share their feedback and experiences.

Making the Accessible Pushchair available for families.We've listened to everyone telling us they have been looking and ...
13/05/2026

Making the Accessible Pushchair available for families.

We've listened to everyone telling us they have been looking and hoping for a product like this and asking when it will be available. So now we want to make that dream a reality.

We had hoped to find a pushchair/stroller brand who would collaborate with us on this, to make a route to market easier, but unfortunately no one wanted to take it on.

But we will make it happen, because we know parents and carers need a product like this.

Our charity has been exploring ways in which to make them available on a larger scale. We have found a way to manufacture them, but now we want to hear from you.

We would need to retail the accessible pushchair for £699.

It will use a standard pushchair, like you’d expect to purchase in shops, which we will adapt into a final product, ready to be connected to a manual wheelchair.

If you would purchase an Accessible Pushchair at £699, please comment a 👍below.

They will be released in the UK first, but if you’d be interested in purchasing from overseas, please comment a ❤️ let us know what country you’re based in.

Image description: A studio image of the accessible pushchair design, with a graphic price tag stating ‘£699’. The text reads: Getting the accessible pushchair to people who need it.

We’re at Kidz to Adultz Exhibitions South today!If you’d like to find out more about our Wizzybug powered wheelchairs, o...
12/05/2026

We’re at Kidz to Adultz Exhibitions South today!

If you’d like to find out more about our Wizzybug powered wheelchairs, or even try one out, pop over to stand V5 at the event in Farnborough.

Gail, June, Hannah and Kate are there to meet you and tell you all about the difference that powered mobility can make to young kids’ lives.

Image description: Kate and June from the team smile for the camera on stand V5 at Kidz to Adultz South. Behind and either side of them are some big graphic displays featuring children using Wizzybugs.

08/05/2026

It’s Deaf Awareness Week. A time to celebrate diversity, promote understanding, and build a more inclusive world for all.

But how could we build a more inclusive world for deaf people?

Share your views in our current research, The Unfair Index: https://bit.ly/_TheUnfairIndex

Christopher is one of our Lived Experience Advisors and faces challenges most days.

In this video, he shares how he relies on visual information at train stations. The issues around sharing pavement space with cyclists who do not know he’s deaf. He also discusses how people tend to make sounds to alert people of their presence, which isn’t helpful for him.

What challenges do you face as a deaf person? How could things be improved for you?

Address

Wolfson Centre Royal United Hospital, Combe Park
Bath
BA13NG

Opening Hours

Monday 9am - 5pm
Tuesday 9am - 5pm
Wednesday 9am - 5pm
Thursday 9am - 5pm
Friday 9am - 5pm

Telephone

+441225824103

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