What Comes Next

Level Access + Making Space + Advertising Week

How do you win attention in 2026? The content breaking through isn't necessarily the most creative, it's the most personal. Yet up to 25% of your audience might not recognize themselves reflected in your campaigns. Many aren’t even able to access the products you’re promoting. Despite representing a $675 billion consumer market segment, according to a 2026 Disability:IN study, Disabled consumers are often an afterthought. But they don’t have to be. Welcome to What Comes Next, an Advertising Week limited series exploring how accessibility and authentic Disability representation are driving creativity and innovation. Hosted by Dana Randall, Executive Creative Director at Level Access, and Keely Cat-Wells, founder and CEO of Making Space, each episode will interview the marketers, advertisers, and designers behind accessible products and the campaigns that brought them to life. New episodes every other Tuesday.

Episodes

  1. 6d ago ·  Video

    This Isn't An Accessibility Capsule with The North Face

    The North Face (TNF) wanted to make its camping gear more accessible for Disabled customers. But in doing so, they actually improved their products for kids, parents, and numerous other customer segments. That’s the power of universal design. This is the story behind The North Face’s Universal Collection of camping gear released this past April. In this episode, you’ll meet TNF athlete, ski pioneer, and Disability access strategist Vasu Sojitra and Senior Manager of Internal Communications and Community at TNF, Wade Balmer. Vasu and Wade take us through the eight-year arc from the question that changed everything to a post-it-covered prototype tent, to the marketing campaign featuring Disabled athletes. We learn why TNF made the deliberate choice to market the collection around its technology and performance rather than around disability alone and how they measured success beyond sales. For advertisers, marketers, and designers, this is a case study in identifying an overlooked audience, building trust with that community before launch, and marketing a product without either erasing or tokenizing the identity it was built for. In this episode: 0:00 — Intro 5.15  — The question that changed everything 2.39  — What is Universal Design? 7:30  —  The project pitch 12:56 — Testing and prototyping 16:02 — Are accessibility and sleek design mutually exclusive? 18.30 — Authentic Disability representation in the marketing campaign 24:50 — What was the response to the campaign? 33.14 — What comes next for accessible design in the outdoors space? Learn more about The North Face Universal Collection: https://www.thenorthface.com/en-us/c/shop-all/universal-collection-829924 Learn more about Level Access: levelaccess.com Learn more about Making Space: making-space.com Follow Vasu Sojitra: @vasu_sojitra on Instagram Follow Wade Balmer: @Wade Balmer on LinkedIn Follow Level Access: @LevelAccessA11y on YouTube Follow Making Space: @_making_space__ on Instagram Follow Advertising Week: @advertisingweek on Instagram

  2. Jul 7 ·  Video

    Your Phone is an Assistive Device, with Bailey Hikawa

    Designer Bailey Hikawa accidentally made an accessible product. And now it’s sold by Apple and used by Disabled people everywhere. This is the story behind the Hikawa iPhone Grip and Stand and how tapping into an underserved market helped Bailey sell her entire collection quicker than she could have imagined. In this premiere episode of What Comes Next, hosts Keely Cat-Wells and Dana Randall chat with Bailey Hikawa to discuss her collaboration with Apple, the iterative process of building an iPhone grip that works for many bodies, and why meaningful design happens at the intersection of art and lived experience. Bailey discusses her process gathering insights from Disabled consumers, her budgetary considerations when designing an accessible product, and how she marketed the product authentically to the Disability community. In this episode: 0:00 — Intro: What is the Hikawa Phone Grip and Stand? 1:45 — The Apple collaboration story 5:30 — Designing with the disability community 10:15 — "Pressure is a gift", the creative process 14:20 — Why phones are assistive devices for everyone 18:00 — Serving an “invisible” market 22:30 — Many designs for many bodies Learn more about the Hikawa iPhone Grip and Stand: https://www.apple.com/shop/product/hsje2zm/a/hikawa-grip-stand-for-iphone-magsafe-compatible-glow-blue Learn more about Level Access: levelaccess.com Learn more about Making Space: making-space.com Follow Bailey Hikawa: @baileyhikawa on Instagram Follow Level Access: @LevelAccessA11y on YouTube Follow Making Space: @_making_space__ on Instagram Follow Advertising Week: @advertisingweek on Instagram

  3. Jun 30 ·  Video

    Trailer

    What Comes Next tells the story of accessible products, their marketing campaigns, and the impact they drive for businesses and society. Tune in for interviews with the leaders behind the Hikawa Grip and Stand for iPhone released in collaboration with Apple, North Face’s Universal Camping Collection, Mattel’s colorblind accessible Uno Deck, the Meta Ray-Bans and BeMyEyes integration, and more! Available July 7th. An Advertising Week podcast, sponsored by Level Access and Making Space.

Trailer

About

How do you win attention in 2026? The content breaking through isn't necessarily the most creative, it's the most personal. Yet up to 25% of your audience might not recognize themselves reflected in your campaigns. Many aren’t even able to access the products you’re promoting. Despite representing a $675 billion consumer market segment, according to a 2026 Disability:IN study, Disabled consumers are often an afterthought. But they don’t have to be. Welcome to What Comes Next, an Advertising Week limited series exploring how accessibility and authentic Disability representation are driving creativity and innovation. Hosted by Dana Randall, Executive Creative Director at Level Access, and Keely Cat-Wells, founder and CEO of Making Space, each episode will interview the marketers, advertisers, and designers behind accessible products and the campaigns that brought them to life. New episodes every other Tuesday.

Information

  • Creator
    Level Access + Making Space + Advertising Week
  • Years Active
    2026
  • Episodes
    3
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Copyright 2026 All rights reserved.
  • Show Website
    What Comes Next