March 18, 2024

GE Appliances debuts its first ever Access Kit, an inclusive tactile offering for blind and low vision appliance owners, created in partnership with the American Printing House for the Blind (APH).

The CDC reports that approximately 6 million Americans have vision loss and 1 million have blindness. As the most comprehensive set of tactile stickers for appliances, the kit of over 400 stickers is designed to meet the needs of users who are blind or low vision and make thousands of GE Appliances more accessible for everyone.

Designed to represent the 80 most common settings across thousands of appliances, the durable stickers are placed directly over existing controls, allowing appliance buttons, knobs and other functions to be identifiable by touch. They are created to be easy to feel and differentiate with a thin and angular tactile design. They are also transparent so the original text can still be viewed.

As part of its extensive research to maximize impact and provide accessibility, the company also made the conscious choice to include both tactile symbols and braille. While braille is the standard, fewer than 10 percent of the 1.3 million people who are legally blind in the United States are braille readers, so GE Appliances landed on 150 unique stickers – half-symbol, half-braille. The full kit includes more than 400 stickers, comprised of over 150 unique stickers, dozens of universal symbols for countless products in every appliance category and extras of each to cover multiple appliances in the home.

The kit will be compatible with the majority of GE Appliances products, as well as other appliances. As new cooking and cleaning modes are introduced, the company will continue expanding the list of available tactile stickers.

The Access Kit can be purchased at www.geappliancesparts.com for $19.99 MSRP.

Photo credit: GE Appliances