Design for the Extreme User
Build for the disabled or edge case and win a far larger mainstream market
- Difficulty
- Easy
- Time to result
- ~months to results
- Steps
- 5
- Confidence
- 75%
Sutherland argues that designing for the disabled or the edge case is good business policy because you end up with a target audience far larger than the one you first anticipated. The clinically-affected population is often small, but the situationally-impaired mainstream is huge: wheelchair ramps also serve wheelie luggage; lever door handles let anyone carrying two bags open a door with an elbow; a shampoo bottle that opens at the top and conditioner at the bottom helps the visually impaired and also anyone in the shower without their glasses. Gluten-free products sell far beyond coeliacs to the much larger group merely avoiding gluten. The method is to solve an extreme user's acute problem, then recognise and market to everyone who shares a milder version of it, capturing a market the naive sizing missed.
Origin
Rory Sutherland presents this as a recurring principle of good product policy, illustrated on Modern Wisdom via wheelchair ramps, door handles, gluten-free food, and big-button phones.
Core principles
- 01Solving an extreme user's acute problem often solves a milder version for the mainstream
- 02The addressable market is far larger than the clinically-affected population
- 03Situational impairment is common even among the able-bodied
- 04Accessibility is a business strategy, not just a cost or a compliance box
How to run it
- 1
Choose an extreme user
Identify a group with an acute, poorly-served need: the disabled, the intolerant, the elderly, the severely impaired.
- 2
Solve their problem fully
Design a genuine solution to the extreme case rather than a token accommodation.
- 3
Find the mainstream's milder version
Ask where able-bodied people experience a temporary or situational form of the same problem.
Pro tip Carrying two bags of shopping leaves you effectively without the use of your hands; a shower leaves you effectively without your sight.
- 4
Market to the wider audience
Position the same solution for the far larger group of situationally-impaired users, not just the clinically-affected.
Pro tip Most gluten-free buyers are avoiders, not coeliacs.
- 5
Resize the opportunity
Recalculate the market using the broad situationally-impaired population, which is far bigger than the naive count.
Watch out Sizing only by the clinically-affected badly understates demand and kills good ideas.
In the wild
Wheelchair ramps mandated by disability legislation are also handy for wheelie luggage; lever door handles, required so arthritis sufferers can open doors, let anyone carrying two bags of tea open a door with an elbow. The accessibility feature serves a vastly larger everyday audience.
→ Compliance-driven design that quietly benefits the whole market.
The number of people with coeliac disease is small, but a far larger group tries to avoid gluten and will buy the gluten-free product anyway. Designing for the intolerant captures the much bigger avoider market.
→ A niche medical need that opens a mass-market category.
Common mistakes
Sizing by the clinically-affected only
Counting only people with the diagnosed condition drastically understates the market and makes good accessible products look uneconomic.
Treating accessibility as pure cost
Framing inclusive design as a compliance expense rather than a strategy forfeits the larger mainstream demand it unlocks.
Is it for you?
Best for
Product designers and marketers looking for underserved demand and defensible positioning.
Not ideal for
Products where the extreme user's needs genuinely conflict with, rather than generalise to, the mainstream.
From the transcript
“the idea of Designing for the disabled is actually a good business policy... you will actually find yourself with a target audience far larger than…”
“there are a hell of a lot of people who are trying to avoid gluten who will also buy a gluten-free product”
From the episode
Hidden Psychology Of The World’s Best Advertising - Rory Sutherland - #735
Rory Sutherland