It can be challenging to find ways to balance between both accessibility and sustainability, as they both seem like distinct goals. Unexpectedly, the two go hand in hand. By merging both processes, museums can create inclusive experiences while reducing environmental impact, which will lead to ensuring long-term relevance and responsibility in the cultural sector.
Bridging accessibility and sustainability
Accessibility ensures that persons with all abilities and backgrounds can equally visit and benefit from museum offers, exhibits and spaces. On the other hand, sustainability focuses on adopting efficient, low energy practices to reduce overall environmental harm caused by museums’ activities and infrastructure. People might say, that accessibility focuses on people and sustainability focuses on the plant, but what is interesting that both share a common end: commitment to enhancing quality of life. Addressing these priorities simultaneously is possible, creating win-win solutions for visitors and the environment at the same time.
The overlap in digital practices
As we mentioned before, digital technologies are key to accessibility, allowing museums to reach wider audiences. However, often these tools are designed in complex ways that defines their initial purpose. At the same time, these technologies and complex designs, can increase energy consumption through digital emissions. This is why it would be essential to optimize the digital tools in a way that will both reduce environmental impact and ensure the resources are actually accessible for the target groups they are intended for.
The 4 principles below are shared by both accessibility and sustainability and will ensure their proper implementation:
- Simplifying content is a key principle in both eco-design and accessible design. Clear, concise content benefits accessibility by improving comprehension and benefits sustainability by reducing data transfer.
- Lighter digital elements, such as optimising images and system fonts, making information easier to understand, so more accessible, and reducing energy consumption by ensuring faster load times.
- Properly structured content and accessible practices, such as captioned images and subtitled videos, enhance usability and also reduce unnecessary server requests, lowering the web’s carbon footprint.
- Personalisation features, like optional loading of images or videos, allow users to control what they view based on their needs, further conserving energy by limiting unnecessary content.
This demonstrates that the challenges of balancing both accessibility and sustainability goals can be addressed together through thoughtful and strategic design choices.