Understand the complex world of debt, poverty, and mental health with money advisor, Colin Trend.

With over 30 years of experience, Colin shares his insights on designing services for people struggling with money, the impact of harmful design patterns, and the importance of understanding the user's perspective.

This episode includes real-life stories of the people Colin has helped over the years.

Whether you're a designer, a financial advisor, or someone interested in social justice, this episode offers valuable lessons on making financial services more accessible.

01:34: Colin's relationship with numbers

05:02: Working in money and debt advice

07:21: Social injustices and financial vulnerability

11:16: Mental health and financial struggles

14:09: Designing accessible financial services

19:04: Real life stories and challenges

24:10: Innovations in financial services

30:28: Final thoughts and more stories

Follow Colin on LinkedIn. Bio and transcripts available at accessiblenumbers.com/debt-financial-vulnerability

A chat with Sheena Campbell from the Patient Information Forum (PIF).

This episode covers the importance of health literacy and how numbers and data can be confusing or challenging for many people when accessing healthcare services.

We discuss how numbers appear in healthcare, such as medication dosages, appointment times, and risk and benefit communication. Sheena provides insights and tips on how to present health information and data in more accessible and understandable ways.

01:44: Sheena's relationship with numbers

02:16: Overview of the Patient Information Forum (PIF)

04:03: Membership and benefits of PIF

05:11: Health literacy

08:41: Numbers in healthcare

13:25: Communicating medical risks and benefits

23:03: Health information in medical settings

32:02: Writing medical questions

35:53: User-centered design in health information

40:49: Misinformation in health information

Follow Sheena Campbell on LinkedIn and Bluesky. Visit and pifonline.org.uk and piftick.org.uk.

Transcript and bio available at accessiblenumbers.com/accessible-health-information

Explore Geri Reid's personal experience with dyscalculia and her professional work in accessibility and design systems.

We discuss the challenges people with dyscalculia face when using digital services, deceptive design patterns (like hidden fees, sneaky upsells, and countdown timers) that can exploit those challenges, and design patterns that can help make numbers more accessible.

We also talk about how internal tools and documentation are often overlooked for accessibility but are vital for employees who struggle with numbers.

01:10 Lived experience with dyscalculia

03:34 Challenges with design components

08:29 Financial transactions and vulnerabilities

13:18 Designing for accessibility in financial services

20:41 Internal documentation and accessibility

29:00 Deceptive design patterns

38:53 Helpful design patterns and tools

44:37 Improving accessibility in design systems

Follow Geri on LinkedIn and Bluesky.

Transcript, bio and links available on accessiblenumbers.com/inclusive-design-systems