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The Shaved Coconut Theory: Design Products for Our Lives, Not Our Limits
Disabled consumers aren’t a niche — we’re a market. In this provocative keynote, Dave Blake challenges companies to stop designing from assumptions, stop hiding behind compliance, and start creating products that people actually want to use, show off, and buy again. You’re not being asked to care — you’re being asked to compete.
Description
Forget what you think you know about accessible design. The Shaved Coconut Theory isn’t about checking boxes — it’s about seeing what you’ve failed to see because you weren’t looking. In this dynamic, story-rich keynote, Dave Blake calls out the outdated assumptions that have kept companies designing for limits instead of lives.
As a neurological injury survivor who’s hacked, adapted, and redesigned his way back into the world, Dave doesn’t ask for pity or patience — he demands better design. Through vivid stories and clear examples, he shows what’s missing when companies build only for function and forget the user — especially when that user is disabled, aging, or living with difference.
This is not about doing social good. This is about growing market share by creating tools, products, and services that people actually want to adopt —because it speaks to their style, needs, and priorities.
And if you think your market research is covered because you’ve talked to doctors or attended a rehab conference — think again. The people you serve aren’t at the hospital anymore. They’re at farmers markets, car shows, comic cons, yoga retreats, psychic fairs, and pickup lines. That’s where companies can thrive —because customers already expect your services and products to have clinical accuracy, but they want you to show that you understand where real buyers live and what they’re actually looking for.
The disability community isn’t looking for prescriptions — we’re looking for solutions. And if your product only lives in a medical brochure, we won’t know about it… or want it.
Whether you design medical devices, consumer tech, retail experiences, or everyday lifestyle products, this keynote will show you what the disability community has already figured out: If you’re not designing with us, we’ve already figured out how to work around you — and we’re spending money elsewhere.
It’s time to start seeing and catering to a wildly lucrative market that's been here all along.
Learning Objectives / Takeaways
See What You’ve Been Missing Learn how traditional accessibility efforts often exclude more than they include — and how to flip flop your thinking to find what consumers actually want.
From Compliance to Conversion Discover how personalized, style-forward, and user-led design opens new doors to loyalty, advocacy, and repeat customers.
Study the Workarounds Examine real-world hacks created by disabled users — and why these “unofficial fixes” are your company’s next great R&D roadmap.
Design for Aspiration, Not Limitation Build products people want to brag about, not just settle for. Meet demand for identity-aligned design.
Move Fast or Fall Behind Get actionable steps for involving real users in your design process — so you stop guessing and start leading.
Go Where the Market Actually Is Stop selling adaptive products like prescription meds. Learn how companies like Cionic (bionic clothing) built loyalty and revenue by showing up where people are — not where professionals gather. If your outreach ends at trade shows and doctors’ offices, you don’t know your market yet.
Dave Blake delivers bold ideas with charm, wit, and dynamic clarity. His interactive keynotes blend consumer truth with design strategy, inviting audiences to explore what they’ve overlooked — and what it’s costing them. You’ll laugh, rethink, and walk away ready to flip flop what isn’t working into your next competitive advantage.
MEMBERSHIPS & AFFILIATIONS
