International Symbol of Access

It consists of a usually blue square overlaid in white (or in contrasting colours) with a stylized image of a person in a wheelchair.

[3] In 1968, Norman Acton, President of Rehabilitation International (RI), tasked Karl Montan, chairman of the International Commission of Technology and Accessibility (ICTA), to develop a symbol as a technical aid and present in the group's 1969 World Congress convention in Dublin.

[12] Frequently, the symbol denotes the removal of environmental barriers, such as steps, which also helps older people, parents with baby carriages, and travellers.

[13] Universal design aims to obviate such symbols by creating products and facilities that are accessible to nearly all users from the start.

[15] It underwent many versions until arriving on the current, dynamic design depicting a person leaning forward and arms raised to indicate movement.

Some disability organizations such as Enabling Unit in India have promoted it,[16] This version of the symbol is officially used in the U.S. states of New York and Connecticut.

[21] Critics have defended the old International Symbol of Access for its more abstract design, which leaves more to the imagination and can represent any disability.