Design for All

Accessibility

In addition to physical access, sensory access to buildings, services and information, eg via speaking browsers, sign language animations, Braille. Now backed up by legal requirements under disability discrimination legislation in US, UK, etc.

Ageing

The ageing process is characterised by the acquisition of progressive multiple minor impairments predominantly related to sight, hearing, dexterity, mobility and cognition. In combination these can lead to high levels of disability and dependency.

Assistive technology / rehabilitation design

Closely related to the above, but primarily focused on enabling social participation of people with severe impairments. Much work in this area has been concerned with developing one-off solutions and specialist equipment for small numbers of people.

Barrier-free design

Original focus of disability campaigners and architects was on barrier-free access to buildings and public environments - kerb cuts, textured paving, ramped entry, wider doorways, corridors and accessible toilets. All denoted by wheelchair symbol.

Carer-assisted design

It is important that people who are reliant on carers are considered part of the whole population. This implies considering the needs of both user and carer. Importantly, older people are often cared for by spouses and relatives, who are also elderly.

Civil rights

Disability activists increasingly see access and participation as basic human rights, which can only be guaranteed by effective and enforceable legislation. Especially important in the US, where civil rights are enshrined in the constitution.

Customisable design

Computer aided manufacture makes possible the customisation of individual products in production. A wide range of users can thus be accommodated within the overall specification of a product delivered as unique items matching individual requirements.

Design exclusion

Term developed by the i~design team to focus attention on those excluded by design features. The team has developed ways to quantify design exclusion based population data. If users must be excluded, such decisions should be rational and justified.

Design for All

European term that promotes inclusion, equality, and socially sustainable development. Supports access to environment, usability of products and access to services. Focus on user involvement.

Design for disability

There is a significant tradition of design for disability, mainly focused on aids and adaptations. Related to the medical model of disability (and ageing), the underlying intent is essentially prosthetic, originating in rehabilitation of war veterans.

Design for our Future Selves

Concept developed by DesignAge programme to encourage young designers to engage with design for ageing populations. Became the theme for many events at the RCA and of an annual competition resulting in many concept exemplars of age-friendly design.

DesignAge

Royal College of Art (RCA) action-research programme launched in 1991. Along with New Design for Old exhibition, V&A Boilerhouse, London 1986, raised awareness of implications for design of ageing populations. Both funded by the Helen Hamlyn Foundation.

Disability

In the past, people were seen as disabled by their condition. Now the move is towards understanding disability as the result of a mismatch between individuals and their social and physical environment. PC terminology differs from country to country.

EQUAL (Extend Quality Life)

R&D programme funded by UK research councils. Primary goal is to improve the life quality of older and disabled people by developing the necessary research base and technical expertise and transferring appropriate skills and technology to industry.

Gerontechnology

Concept developed at Technical University of Eindhoven, NL, with US and Finnish colleagues. Combines human factors, social sciences, gerontology and engineering. Applying technology to address age-related factors. Consumer/market oriented approach.

Health condition or status

Term used by the WHO to group disease, congenital and other factors previously dealt with in more strictly medical terms, that allows them to be seen as falling within a continuum of health conditions, which all impact on life quality and capability.

i~design team

An interdisciplinary, multi-centre team from the Design Council, the Engineering Design Centre at Cambridge University, the Design for Ability unit of the London Institute, and the Helen Hamlyn Research Centre at the Royal College of Art.

i~design

EQUAL research project on inclusive design. To develop and disseminate tools and guidance for design managers, to enable them to understand and respond to the design implications of disability and population ageing to achieve a more inclusive society.

Impairment

Health conditions, ageing, and traumatic events can all result in impaired capability. Whether this gives rise to disability is determined by social and environmental factors, and importantly the design of environments, products, systems and services.

Inclusive design cube

A model developed by the i~design team which shows how four design approaches (described below) are needed to accommodate the needs of the whole population, In particular in product, and interface design. A key component of inclusive design theory.

Inclusive design

Process-driven approach whereby designers and industry ensure that products and services address the needs of the widest possible consumer base, regardless of age or ability. Emphasis is placed on working with 'critical users' to stretch design brief.

Independence

For older people independence is crucial. This can be compromised by inappropriate design, and is conditional on being able to carry out daily living activities like bathing, dressing, cooking, contact with family and friends and social participation.

Medical model

The medical model of disability and ageing implies that people are disabled as a consequence of their own condition, and seeks to either remedy the impairment through medication, rehabilitation and surgery, or through adaptive aids and equipment.

Modular design

Designs which, by virtue of interchangeable units or add-on elements, can be configured to meet a wide range of requirements, particularly with regard to the user interface, thus extending the range of users served by a single design or product.

Participation

Participation and social integration are key factors. Some severely disabled people prefer the help of a personal assistant where activities are time-consuming to perform. Priorities for younger disabled people are fulfilment and social involvement.

Revised WHO model

The standard model was replaced (Nov 2001) with a new International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF). This shifts the focus to life quality and how we function in social and other contexts, which can be improved by design.

Social inclusion

A Europe-wide political objective, aimed at combating social discrimination, marginalisation and conflict due to age, disability, poverty or ethnicity. Particularly important due to the diversity of ethnic groups with the soon to be enlarged EU.

Social model

In contrast, the social model, which has superseded the medical model, sees people as disabled or enabled by the social context in which they function and proposes that changes in the social context or environment can remove or alleviate disability.

Transgenerational design

Concept developed by Prof. James Pirkl and colleagues at the University of Syracuse, USA. Proposes that designs should work for people of all ages. Replaces UD emphasis on disability with a market-led approach. Resulted in quality book of same title.

Universal access

Universal access/access for all: to information and communications technology (ICT). Also used in assistive technology to refer to specialist interfaces and control devices to make ICT products accessible to people with high levels of impairment.

Universal design

Term originating in the USA and underpinned by 7 principles set out by Architect and Designer Ron Mace. Taken up enthusiastically in Japan. Extends the concepts of Barrier-Free Design and Universal Access to include access to products and services.

User research methods

There are several publications on user research methods including The Methods Lab (RCA) and USERfit (HUSAT for the EU). User-research is also carried out by specialist organisations such as RICAbility, market research companies, and academic groups.

Ethnography

Observing users in real life situations, and interacting with products, is highly revealing. Small video cameras and desktop editing software make this a fertile and expanding form of research in social sciences and among the design community.

User research

Understanding users is key to inclusive and user-aware design. User research can be carried out by designers themselves, in which case it is likely to be based on empathic interaction with small groups of extreme users, supplemented by observation.

User-(age, disability)friendly

Products, packaging, manuals, information, services, environments, and interfaces, etc, that have been designed for simplicity and/or ease of use, and are marketed, and promoted in ways that highlight user-(age, etc)friendly features and operations.

User-aware design

Mainstream design that understands user needs and aspirations and so maximises the number of people who can use a product, service, or interface. This can only ever include a proportion of the whole population, making additional approaches necessary.

User-centred/focused, also human-centred

Design approaches that place users at the heart of the design process, and involve and engage with users in ways that make them part of or integral to the design process itself. Similar terms, such as co-design are used in architecture and planning.

WHO standard model (of disability)

First published by the World Health Organisation in 1980, and based on the medical model, this described a cascade of effects leading from impairment to disability and handicap (ICIDH), implying that disability is an individual rather than social factor.

World Health Organisation (WHO)

WHO developed a classification system of health and disability. First published in 1980, the system was significantly revised in 2001 and adopted by 191 countries as an international standard, shifting the focus from medical to social models of disability.