News from Group on Standardization – TC159/WG2: Advancing Accessible Design Through International Standardization

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  • June 30, 2026
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The Role of WG2 within ISO/TC159 ISO/TC159/WG2, “Ergonomics for people with special requirements,” addresses accessibility from an ergonomic perspective. It considers differences in human abilities due to age, disability, and use situations, and promotes their consideration in the design of products, services, environments, and systems. WG2’s role is not limited to developing individual accessibility-related standards.

  1. The Role of WG2 within ISO/TC159

ISO/TC159/WG2, “Ergonomics for people with special requirements,” addresses accessibility from an ergonomic perspective. It considers differences in human abilities due to age, disability, and use situations, and promotes their consideration in the design of products, services, environments, and systems.

WG2’s role is not limited to developing individual accessibility-related standards. It also:

  • develops an overall strategy for addressing accessibility within ISO/TC159;
  • coordinates accessibility-related activities across ISO/TC159;
  • supports other subcommittees and working groups when they incorporate accessibility into standards in their respective fields.

Related work is also carried out in ISO/TC159/SC5/WG5, which addresses accessibility in the physical environment, including signage and colour combinations in public and built environments. Together, these groups help ensure that accessibility is considered across products, services, and the environments in which people live and move.

  1. Concept and Importance of Accessible Design

Accessible design places human diversity at the centre of design. Rather than treating accessibility as an additional measure for specific users, it aims to make products, services, environments, and systems easier to understand and use in real-life situations. Unlike more general design approaches, accessible design makes systematic use of ergonomic data, such as visual acuity, hearing thresholds, cognitive characteristics, grip strength, and actuation force, to support objective design criteria.

It benefits not only people with specific accessibility needs, but also many users in everyday conditions, such as dim lighting, glare, or noisy surroundings. Addressing such conditions improves usability, safety, and comfort.

Standardization is important because inconsistent approaches can increase users’ learning burden and reduce usability across products and services. Sharing ergonomic data through international standards also helps industries design more efficiently and improve overall quality.

  1. Current Standardization and Activities of WG2

WG2 has developed documents supporting ISO/IEC Guide 71, which provides guidance on incorporating the needs of older persons and persons with disabilities into standards.

ISO 22411:2008 included both design considerations and human characteristics data. The revised ISO/TR 22411:2021 focuses on human characteristics data related to vision, hearing, cognition, and physical functions.

WG2 is now developing ISO/TR 22411-2, which will provide design guidelines, good practices, and considerations for visual, auditory, cognitive, and physical aspects.

Future work will include cross-cutting standards, including a planned proposal on color and luminance contrast to support safer and more accessible product and environment design.

The following list shows existing standards, work under development, and future proposals.

Participation in WG2 is welcome from those interested in accessible design, ageing, disability, or inclusive ergonomics. Good practices in accessible design are also welcomed for possible inclusion in future documents.

  • ISO 22411:2008 — Ergonomics data and guidelines for the application of ISO/IEC Guide 71 to products and services to address the needs of older persons and persons with disabilities (Withdrawn and replaced by ISO/TR 22411:2021)
  • ISO 24500:2010 — Ergonomics — Accessible design — Auditory signals for consumer products
  • ISO 24501:2010 — Ergonomics — Accessible design — Sound pressure levels of auditory signals for consumer products
  • ISO 24502:2010 — Ergonomics — Accessible design — Specification of age-related luminance contrast for coloured light
  • ISO 24504:2014 — Ergonomics — Accessible design — Sound pressure levels of spoken announcements for products and public address systems
  • ISO 24505-1:2025 — Ergonomics — Accessible design — Part 1: Colour combinations for young and older people without visual impairments
  • ISO 24508:2019 — Ergonomics — Accessible design — Guidelines for designing tactile symbols and characters
  • ISO 24509:2019 — Ergonomics — Accessible design — A method for estimating minimum legible font size for people at any age
  • ISO 24550:2019 — Ergonomics — Accessible design — Indicator lights on consumer products
  • ISO 24551:2019 — Ergonomics — Accessible design — Spoken instructions of consumer products
  • ISO/TR 22411:2021 — Ergonomics data for use in the application of ISO/IEC Guide 71:2014
  • ISO 24553:2023 — Ergonomics — Accessible design — Ease of operation
  • ISO 24505-2:2025 — Ergonomics — Accessible design — Part 2: Colour combinations for people with colour deficiency and low vision
  • ISO/AWI TR 22411-2 — Guidance for use in the application of ISO/IEC Guide 71:2014 — Part 2: Ergonomic design considerations (under development)
  • ISO 24505-3:20XX — Ergonomics — Accessible design — Part 3: Colour combinations for populations with diverse colour vision (planned proposal to TC159/SC5/WG5)

XXXX:XXXX — Ergonomics — Accessible design — Visual contrast for signs, displays, and markings (temporary title; planned proposal to TC159/WG2)

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