
Alun Evans, Roy Noble and Wynne Evans (Cymru Healthcare) with Richard Jones at the Launch of Accessible Wales
Operating from the heart of the South Wales Valleys, Accessible Wales, has been tireless in motivating and supporting businesses to become accessible to people with varying disabilities. All our work is underpinned by a desire to see people across a spectrum of disability and health conditions able to access goods and services without having to struggle through buildings and processes that make it difficult for them.
With that in mind we will be commencing a phased rebrand, starting today, when the new logo (as shown below) will become our new brand.
The new logo represents our recognition of unseen disabilities, such as learning difficulties and mental health conditions. Company founder Richard Jones says the following:
“When we opened in 2007 we adopted the wheelchair symbol as part of our logo because it was the international symbol of disability. However, we feel now that it is time to recognise that in Wales, and the UK generally, only a small percentage of people with disabilities use a wheelchair.”
The company celebrates its tenth year anniversary in September 2017 and aims to have all the rebranding complete by then. Richard Jones also commented:
“The tenth anniversary of the company provides an ideal time to mark the progress of Accessible Wales and the encouraging change in awareness of disability issues. The creation of the new logo and branding reflects these positive markers and the achievements of the company in this challenging arena.
Accessible Wales has always taken the broad view of ‘disability’, including a whole spectrum of chronic medical conditions, when carrying out both our access consultancy and training services. While the difference in the logo is subtle, “thumbs up” is a symbol of solidarity and positivity, something Accessible Wales has always strived for. ”
As a company Accessible Wales’ ethos is to be positive about disability and accessibility, recognising good practices and helping to correct practices that need improvement. Businesses are not experts in understanding the needs of people with disabilities. Accessible Wales is, and can ensure not only compliance with the current legal obligations, but increased opportunities to sell their goods and services to this particular sector of the market.
In January 2017, Accessible Wales will be taking over sister company W38 Media, which will then become a subsidiary company.
Our thanks go to James Francis for the original design concept, and to all those companies, friends and colleagues we’ve worked with in the last nine years.
We will announce more on how we plan to celebrate our tenth anniversary in the future along with what the future has in store for us.
Happy New Year, and here’s to a fantastic 2017