Accessibility
Designing products, environments, and services so they can be used by people of all abilities. Good accessibility benefits everyone, not just those with disabilities.
EverydayConcepts.io
Origin
The formal design principles were standardized beginning with ANSI's first Barrier-Free Design code in 1961. Architect Ronald Mace, a wheelchair user since childhood, coined the term "universal design" in the 1980s as a positive reframing — building environments usable by all people without special adaptation. For the digital realm, the W3C's Web Accessibility Initiative published WCAG 1.0 in 1999, establishing the technical standard that underpins modern web accessibility law and practice.
Updated February 22, 2026