Universal design


Universal design is the design of buildings, products, or environments to make them accessible to all people, regardless of age, disability, or other factors. It emerged as a rights-based, anti-discrimination measure, which seeks to create design for all abilities. It addresses common barriers to participation by creating things that can be used by the maximum number of people possible. "When disabling mechanisms are to be replaced with mechanisms for inclusion, different kinds of knowledge are relevant for different purposes. As a practical strategy for inclusion, Universal Design involves dilemmas and often difficult priorities." Curb cuts or sidewalk ramps, which are essential for people in wheelchairs but also used by all, are a common example of universal design.

History

The term universal design was coined by the architect Ronald Mace to describe the concept of designing all products and the built environment to be aesthetic and usable to the greatest extent possible by everyone, regardless of their age, ability, or status in life. However, due to some people having unusual or conflicting access needs, such as a person with low vision needing bright light and a person with photophobia needing dim light, universal design does not address absolutely every need for every person in every situation.
Universal design emerged from slightly earlier barrier-free concepts, the broader accessibility movement, and adaptive and assistive technology and also seeks to blend aesthetics into these core considerations. As life expectancy rises and modern medicine increases the survival rate of those with significant injuries, illnesses, and birth defects, there is a growing interest in universal design. There are many industries in which universal design is having strong market penetration but there are many others in which it has not yet been adopted to any great extent. Universal design is also being applied to the design of technology, instruction, services, and other products and environments. Several different fields, such as engineering, architecture, and medicine collaborate in order to effectively create accessible environments that can lend to inclusion for a variety of disabilities. It can change the socio-material relationships people have with spaces and environments and create positive experiences for all kinds of abilities, which allows for meaningful participation across multiple demographics experiencing disability.

Barrier-free design

In 1960, specifications for barrier-free design were published as a compendium of over 11 years of disability ergonomic research. In 1961, the American National Standard Institute A1171.1 specifications were published as the first Barrier Free Design standard. It presented criteria for designing facilities and programs for use by individuals with disabilities. The research started in 1949 at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and continues to this day. The principal investigator, Dr. Timothy Nugent, who is credited in the 1961, 1971, and 1980 standards, also started the National Wheelchair Basketball Association.
The ANSI A117.1 standard was adopted by the US federal government General Services Administration under the Uniform Federal Accessibility Standards in 1984, then in 1990 for American with Disabilities Act. The archived research documents are at the International Code Council - ANSI A117.1 division. Dr. Nugent made presentations around the globe in the late 1950s and 1960s presenting the concept of independent functional participation for individuals with disabilities through program options and architectural design.
Another comprehensive publication by the Royal Institute of British Architects published three editions 1963, 1967, 1976 and 1997 of Designing for the Disabled by Selwyn Goldsmith UK. These publications contain valuable empirical data and studies of individuals with disabilities. Both standards are excellent resources for the designer and builder.
Disability ergonomics should be taught to designers, engineers, non-profits executives to further the understanding of what makes an environment wholly tenable and functional for individuals with disabilities.
In October 2003, representatives from China, Japan, and South Korea met in Beijing and agreed to set up a committee to define common design standards for a wide range of products and services that are easy to understand and use. Their goal is to publish a standard in 2004 which covers, among other areas, standards on containers and wrappings of household goods, and standardization of signs for public facilities, a subject which was of particular interest to China as it prepared to host the 2008 Summer Olympics.

Design for All

, author of Designing for the Disabled, pioneered the concept of free access for people with disabilities. His most significant achievement was the creation of the dropped curb – now a standard feature of the built environment.
The term Design for All is used to describe a design philosophy targeting the use of products, services and systems by as many people as possible without the need for adaptation. "Design for All is design for human diversity, social inclusion and equality". According to the European Commission, it "encourages manufacturers and service providers to produce new technologies for everyone: technologies that are suitable for the elderly and people with disabilities, as much as the teenage techno wizard." The origin of Design for All lies in the field of barrier-free accessibility for people with disabilities and the broader notion of universal design.
Design for All has been highlighted in Europe by the European Commission in seeking a more user-friendly society in Europe. Design for All is about ensuring that environments, products, services and interfaces work for people of all ages and abilities in different situations and under various circumstances.
Design for All has become a mainstream issue because of the aging of the population and its increasingly multi-ethnic composition. It follows a market approach and can reach out to a broader market. Easy-to-use, accessible, affordable products and services improve the quality of life of all citizens. Design for All permits access to the built environment, access to services and user-friendly products which are not just a quality factor but a necessity for many aging or disabled persons. Including Design for All early in the design process is more cost-effective than making alterations after solutions are already on the market. This is best achieved by identifying and involving users in the decision-making processes that lead to drawing up the design brief and educating public and private sector decision-makers about the benefits to be gained from making coherent use of Design in a wide range of socio-economic situations.

In information and communication technology (ICT)

Design for All criteria are aimed at ensuring that everyone can participate in the Information society. The European Union refers to this under the terms eInclusion and eAccessibility. A three-way approach is proposed: goods which can be accessed by nearly all potential users without modification or, failing that, products being easy to adapt according to different needs, or using standardized interfaces that can be accessed simply by using assistive technology. To this end, manufacturers and service providers, especially, but not exclusively, in the Information and Communication Technologies, produce new technologies, products, services and applications for everyone.

European organizational networks

In Europe, people have joined in networks to promote and develop Design for All:
  • The European Design for All eAccessibility Network was launched under the lead of the European Commission and the European Member States in 2002. It fosters Design for All for eInclusion, that is, creating an information society for all. It has national contact centres in almost all EU countries and more than 160 network members in national networks.
  • EIDD - Design for All Europe is a NGO and a 100% self-financed European organization that covers the entire area of theory and practice of Design for All, from the built environment and tangible products to communication, service and system design. Originally set up in 1993 as the European Institute for Design and Disability, to enhance the quality of life through Design for All, it changed its name in 2006 to bring it into line with its core business. EIDD - Design for All Europe disseminates the application of Design for All to business and administration communities previously unaware of its benefits and currently has 31 member organizations in 20 European countries.
  • EuCAN - The European Concept for Accessibility Network started in 1984 as an open network of experts and advocates from all over Europe in order to promote and support the Design for All approach. The coordination work of EuCAN and the functioning of the network are mainly voluntary work. In 1999 the Luxembourg Disability Information and Meeting Centre took over the coordination of the steering group, together with the implicit responsibility for the follow-up of the European Concept for Accessibility. The EuCAN publications - like ECA - aim to provide practical guidance. They are neither academic nor policy documents.

    Principles and goals

The Center for Universal Design at North Carolina State University expounded the following principles:
  1. Equitable use
  2. Flexibility in use
  3. Simple and intuitive
  4. Perceptible information
  5. Tolerance for error
  6. Low physical effort
  7. Size and space for approach and use
Each principle is broader than those of accessible design or barrier-free design contains and few brief guidelines that can be applied to design processes in any realm: physical or digital.

Goals

In 2012, the Center for Inclusive Design and Environmental Access at the University at Buffalo expanded the definition of the principles of universal design to include social participation and health and wellness. Rooted in evidence based design, the 8 goals of universal design were also developed.
  1. Body Fit
  2. Comfort
  3. Awareness
  4. Understanding
  5. Wellness
  6. Social Integration
  7. Personalization
  8. Cultural Appropriateness
The first four goals are oriented to human performance: anthropometry, biomechanics, perception, cognition. Wellness bridges human performance and social participation. The last three goals addresses social participation outcomes. The definition and the goals are expanded upon in the textbook "Universal Design: Creating Inclusive Environments."