ABSTRACT
This chapter aims to focus on the concept of accessible design in the domain of audiovisual translation (AVT) which has increasingly expanded into the field of media accessibility (MA) and universal design (UD). The actual products to be made accessible as well as their translations take on multiple forms, especially since they target increasingly diverse audiences and are produced for increasingly diverse platforms. Technology has had and continues to have a major impact on this evolution, but it does not operate in a vacuum. This chapter therefore aims to chart the actors and actants in terms of Actor Network Theory that have impacted and continue to impact on this development. It examines how research is dealing with so many complex MA forms, and it reflects on emergent issues to be tackled in the future. At the core of the chapter lies the conviction that to understand media access, accessible design and the inherent challenges, the processes that determine their constant development must form an integral part of MA (and translation) research.
