New laws, global competition, technological advances, and evolving societal values toward disability all demand the integration of universal and accessible design principles into the general practice of the design community. This growing international movement forces competitors to expand their traditional concepts of design and adopt these princip
Universal Design in Higher Education looks at the design of physical and technological environments at institutions of higher education; at issues pertaining to curriculum and instruction; and at the full array of student services. Universal Design in Higher Education is a comprehensive guide for researchers and practitioners on creating fully accessible college and university programs. It is founded upon, and contributes to, theories of universal design in education that have been gaining increasingly wide attention in recent years. As greater numbers of students with disabilities attend postsecondary educational institutions, administrators have expressed increased interest in making their programs accessible to all students. This book provides both theoretical and practical guidance for schools as they work to turn this admirable goal into a reality. It addresses a comprehensive range of topics on universal design for higher education institutions, thus making a crucial contribution to the growing body of literature on special education and universal design. This book will be of unique value to university and college administrators, and to special education researchers, practitioners, and activists.
In Creating Inclusive Learning Opportunities in Higher Education, Sheryl Burgstahler provides a practical, step-by-step guide for putting the principles of universal design into action. The book offers multiple ways to access, engage with, and transform the higher education environment: making physical spaces welcoming to students of all abilities; creating digital learning and assistive technology programs that meet the needs of all users; developing universal design in higher education (UDHE) syllabi, assessments and teaching practices that minimize the need for academic accommodations; and institutionalizing universal design supports and services. A follow-up to Universal Design in Higher Education, Burgstahler's new book will be a valuable resource for leaders, faculty, and administrators who are interested in acquiring the tools needed to create barrier-free learning environments. Filled with applications, examples, recommendations, and above all, a framework in which to conceptualize UDHE, this volume will help educators meet the design needs of all students and honor the principles of diversity and inclusivity.
Universal Design is a process for creating an equitable and sustainable society. It is a concept committed to recognizing and accepting each individual's potential and characteristics, and promoting the realization of a built environment that does not stigmatize users, but enables everyone to participate fully in their community.This book presents 32 articles from the 5th International Conference on Universal Design (UD2021). Previous Universal Design conferences have been organized biennially, but the 2020 conference was postponed due to COVID-19 restrictions, and eventually held online from 9 - 11 June 2021. UD2021 brings together a multidisciplinary group of experts from around the world to share knowledge and best practice with the common goal of shaping the way we design; avoiding stereotyped or discriminatory views and solutions that could stigmatize particular groups of people. The articles are organized into chapters under seven broad themes: universal design and inclusive design; user experience and co-design; access to education and learning environment; web accessibility and usability of technology; architecture and the built environment; mobility and transport; and designing for older people.The current situation has highlighted not only the importance of web accessibility, the user-friendliness of interfaces and remote connections; during the last year, the importance and quality of our daily living environment, access to services and green space has also become ever more obvious. This book will be of particular interest to those working to enable all those with disabilities or impairments to live independently and participate fully in all aspects of life.
"Universal Methods of Design is an immensely useful survey of research and design methods used by today's top practitioners, and will serve as a crucial reference for any designer grappling with really big problems. This book has a place on every designer's bookshelf, including yours!" —David Sherwin, Principal Designer at frog and author of Creative Workshop: 80 Challenges to Sharpen Your Design Skills "Universal Methods of Design is a landmark method book for the field of design. This tidy text compiles and summarizes 100 of the most widely applicable and effective methods of design—research, analysis, and ideation—the methods that every graduate of a design program should know, and every professional designer should employ. Methods are concisely presented, accompanied by information about the origin of the technique, key research supporting the method, and visual examples. Want to know about Card Sorting, or the Elito Method? What about Think-Aloud Protocols? This book has them all and more in readily digestible form. The authors have taken away our excuse for not using the right method for the job, and in so doing have elevated its readers and the field of design. UMOD is an essential resource for designers of all levels and specializations, and should be one of the go-to reference tools found in every designer’s toolbox." —William Lidwell, author of Universal Principles of Design, Lecturer of Industrial Design, University of Houston This comprehensive reference provides a thorough and critical presentation of 100 research methods, synthesis/analysis techniques, and research deliverables for human centered design, delivered in a concise and accessible format perfect for designers, educators, and students. Whether research is already an integral part of a practice or curriculum, or whether it has been unfortunately avoided due to perceived limitations of time, knowledge, or resources, Universal Methods of Design serves as an invaluable compendium of methods that can be easily referenced and utilized by cross-disciplinary teams in nearly any design project. This essential guide: - Dismantles the myth that user research methods are complicated, expensive, and time-consuming - Creates a shared meaning for cross-disciplinary design teams - Illustrates methods with compelling visualizations and case studies - Characterizes each method at a glance - Indicates when methods are best employed to help prioritize appropriate design research strategies Universal Methods of Design distills each method down to its most powerful essence, in a format that will help design teams select and implement the most credible research methods best suited to their design culture within the constraints of their projects.
Good design is enabling, and each and every one of us is a designer. Universal Design is widely recognized an important concept that should be incorporated in all person-centred policies. The United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD) clearly stipulates that the most effective way of delivering on the promise of an inclusive society is through a Universal Design approach. Sitting at the intersection of the fields of Higher Education and Universal Design, this book presents papers delivered at the Universal Design and Higher Education in Transformation Congress (UDHEIT2018), held in Dublin, Ireland, from 30 October to 2 November 2018. This event brings together key experts from industry, education, and government and non-government organization sectors to share experiences and knowledge with all participants. The 86 papers included here are grouped under 17 headings, or themes, ranging from education and digital learning through healthcare to engagement with industry and urban design. Celebrating and integrating all that is good in design, diversity and education, this book will be a valuable resource for all those interested in the inspiring and empowering developments in both Universal Design and higher education.
A much-needed reference to the latest thinking in universal design Universal Design: Creating Inclusive Environments offers a comprehensive survey of best practices and innovative solutions in universal design. Written by top thinkers at the Center for Inclusive Design and Environmental Access (IDeA), it demonstrates the difference between universal design and accessibility and identifies its relationship to sustainable design and active living. Hundreds of examples from all areas of design illustrate the practical application of this growing field. Complete, in-depth coverage includes: • The evolution of universal design, from its roots in the disability rights movement to present-day trends • How universal design can address the needs of an aging population without specialization or adaptation to reduce the need for expensive and hard-to-find specialized products and services • Design practices for human performance, health and wellness, and social participation • Strategies for urban and landscape design, housing, interior design, product design, and transportation Destined to become the standard professional reference on the subject, Universal Design: Creating Inclusive Environments is an invaluable resource for architects, interior designers, urban planners, landscape architects, product designers, and anyone with an interest in how we access, use, and enjoy the environment.
Universal Design is the term used to describe the design of products and environments which can be used by all people, to the greatest extent possible, without the need for adaptation or specialized design. It is not a euphemism for ‘designs for people with a disability’, but really is about designing to include all people, regardless of their age, ability, cultural background or status in life. However it remains the case that many designers and developers fail to understand the need for universal design and lack the skills needed to implement it. This book presents papers from the 3rd International Conference on Universal Design (UD 2016), held in York, UK, in August 2016. The theme of the conference was: learning from the past, designing for the future, and it aimed to bring together policymakers, practitioners and researchers interested in the different strands of universal design to exchange ideas and best practice, review some of the developments in universal design from the last 20 years, and formulate strategies for taking the concept of universal design forward into the future. The book is divided into two sections. Section 1: About Universal Design, and Section 2: Universal Design In Practice. The book will be of interest to all those whose work involves design, from the built environment and tangible products to communication, services and systems.
A history of design that is often overlooked—until we need it Have you ever hit the big blue button to activate automatic doors? Have you ever used an ergonomic kitchen tool? Have you ever used curb cuts to roll a stroller across an intersection? If you have, then you’ve benefited from accessible design—design for people with physical, sensory, and cognitive disabilities. These ubiquitous touchstones of modern life were once anything but. Disability advocates fought tirelessly to ensure that the needs of people with disabilities became a standard part of public design thinking. That fight took many forms worldwide, but in the United States it became a civil rights issue; activists used design to make an argument about the place of people with disabilities in public life. In the aftermath of World War II, with injured veterans returning home and the polio epidemic reaching the Oval Office, the needs of people with disabilities came forcibly into the public eye as they never had before. The US became the first country to enact federal accessibility laws, beginning with the Architectural Barriers Act in 1968 and continuing through the landmark Americans with Disabilities Act in 1990, bringing about a wholesale rethinking of our built environment. This progression wasn’t straightforward or easy. Early legislation and design efforts were often haphazard or poorly implemented, with decidedly mixed results. Political resistance to accommodating the needs of people with disabilities was strong; so, too, was resistance among architectural and industrial designers, for whom accessible design wasn’t “real” design. Bess Williamson provides an extraordinary look at everyday design, marrying accessibility with aesthetic, to provide an insight into a world in which we are all active participants, but often passive onlookers. Richly detailed, with stories of politics and innovation, Williamson’s Accessible America takes us through this important history, showing how American ideas of individualism and rights came to shape the material world, often with unexpected consequences.
With so much attention placed upon comfort in the sale of many goods and in relation to musculoskeletal injuries, it is surprising that there is no generally accepted notion of comfort or discomfort that allow them to be easily incorporated into the design process. Because of this lack of a comfort/discomfort paradigm, industry also lacks a referen
