Countering design exclusion through inclusive design

Springer eBooks, 2003

'Design exclusion' arises when a product cannot be used effectively because of choices made during the design process. Understanding the causes of such design exclusion is essential if better products, which accommodate the widest range of user capabilities, are to be designed. This paper investigates the prevalence of multiple minor impairments among older users who are most vulnerable to design exclusion. Effective ways of representing these impairments are also discussed, with the aim of helping designers better understand user capabilities, and thus reduce design exclusion.

Applied Ergonomics, 2014

Inclusive design has unique challenges because it aims to improve usability for a wide range of users. This typically includes people with lower levels of ability, as well as mainstream users. This paper examines the effectiveness of two methods that are used in inclusive design: user trials and exclusion calculations (an inclusive design inspection method). A study examined three autoinjectors using both methods (n ¼ 30 for the user trials). The usability issues identified by each method are compared and the effectiveness of the methods is discussed. The study found that each method identified different kinds of issues, all of which are important for inclusive design. We therefore conclude that a combination of methods should be used in inclusive design rather than relying on a single method. Recommendations are also given for how the individual methods can be used more effectively in this context.

Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society Annual Meeting, 2000

Inclusive design approaches aim to create products that are suitable for the non-disabled and disabled alike. Traditionally, such approaches have concentrated on creating products which, whilst fitting with the special cognitive and/or physical needs of the disabled, have also brought benefits to the non-disabled. Examples of such products include the ballpoint pen and the TV remote control. Whilst those two are excellent examples of inclusive design, it will be argued in this paper that inclusive approaches which concentrate on only the cognitive and physical aspects of disability are limited. A new paradigm for inclusive design is proposed. This paradigm is based on looking at people holistically — taking into account people's lifestyles and values. A framework for considering such issues — the four pleasures — is described. It is argued that many ‘inclusive’ designs fail through failing to reflect the diverse values and lifestyles of the disabled. Examples are given, demonstr...

2005

In order to create effective inclusive designs, we need to address many questions -not only issues of design itself, but also questions surrounding the design process: methodological, ethical and practical. If we are to address these effectively, we need to identify them, consider the options and think through their implications. Nowhere is this more true than in the development of technology for older people, an increasingly important area in the light of the increasingly aging population. This paper presents some first steps in the exploration of these issues in this context, mapping out a space of the issues and discussing each of them in greater depth. We report on views expressed at workshops on inclusive design and the older population held during 2004, particularly one run at HCI 2004, involving 24 participants from academia, industry and the older population.

Proceedings on the 2000 conference on Universal Usability - CUU '00, 2000

It is known that many products are not accessible to large sections of the population. Designers instinctively design for able-bodied users and are either unaware of the needs of users with different capabilities, or do not know how to accommodate their needs into the design cycle.

2019

Wearable technology has rapidly evolved during the past decades and become trendy nowadays. There is a steady increase in wearable devices sales every year; however, unfriendly user experience and high abandonment rates show that the future of wearable devices should be more inclusive and engaging. As a designer, it is a responsibility to design technology products for a better experience to accommodate a wide range of people with different abilities and experience. Wearable devices have great potential values to benefit the aging population, while the gap between the product value and current usage is quite huge. This thesis aims to help designers to design an inclusive wearable device for promoting health, especially to accommodate older users' needs. Based on user experience design (UX) theory, a series of design guidelines are provided with different design stages to help designers create and evaluate their concepts. The design thinking behind this research is using design to influence user's behavior. Specifically, through inclusive design, UX design, and persuasive design strategy, a designer can understand behavior, enable behavior and finally influence behavior. An ideal inclusive wearable device should not only be accessible to older adults without stigma but should also be attractive to normal consumers because of ease of use. iii Acknowledgments After four months of learning, researching and writing, my thesis finally comes to an end, but my way on design will never stop. I will always passionate to deliver better user experience to users and keep learning new knowledges. The thesis-developing process is stressful but fulfilling, and I would like to express my gratitude to the people who have guided and supported throughout my graduate student life.

Gerontechnology, 2006

This paper takes an extreme, and to some extent stereotypical, view of the various "inclusive design" paradigms. It has been written to be provocative, and to encourage designers to adopt a radical approach to including older and disabled people within their design brief. It recommends focussing on the needs and wants of older users followed by addressing the challenge of including able bodied people in the potential user group, rather than vica-versa. The paper concludes by suggesting the use of professional theatre to assist this process. The paper focuses on Information Technology systems, but a similar argument can be applied to product design.

Applied Ergonomics, 2018

The paper describes a tool developed based on research conducted over a three-year period to understand effective ways to provide specific information about inclusivity to product developers. Thirty-eight participants, divided into industrial designers of international design studios and clients of multinational companies, were involved in this research. An iterative development process with appropriate user testing was used to understand the suitability of different interfaces, information and results of an inclusive design evaluation tool applied into design practices. At the end of this iterative process, a tool named Inclusive Design Advisor was developed, combining data related to design features of small appliances with anthropometric data, ergonomic task demands and exclusion data. When auditing a new design the tool examines the exclusion that each design feature can cause. It presents the portion of the population excluded from using the design followed by objective recommendations directly related to its features. Interactively, it allows designers or clients to balance design changes with the exclusion caused. The final version of the tool was tested in the field with a designer and a client in two commercial design projects under development. The research indicates that the provision of quantifiable data, and recommendations directly related to the design under evaluation, is the type of information that enables designers and clients to discuss inclusivity and make more inclusive design decisions.

University of Cambridge, Department of Engineering. PhD Thesis.

This thesis investigates the role of prior experience of products and its affect upon interaction. It has been shown within this work that technological experience of products is related to age, and that this has implications for the success of subsequent interaction. This research adds weight to a growing body of literature that has identified age related and generational differences toward product interaction. Implications for intuitive design such as the use of familiar features and icon design are also identified. The adoption of a novel inclusive design approach, framing interaction using an interactional, behavioural model, is proposed as a potential method to identify issues that cause unnecessary interactional complexity. The contribution of this work is to provide the design community with new knowledge and a greater awareness of the diversity of user needs, and particularly the needs and skills of older people. The hope is that the awareness of this knowledge can, in turn, assist toward the community’s development of better design methods. The approach introduced can be applied to new and existing products alike and can aid the development of products that are more accessible and easier to use for a wider proportion of the population

The future is a hard thing to stop. It's is avoided by some, accepted by others, and shaped by all of us. From a design standpoint, there is a future that looms on the horizon that research suggests is all but here, and in many places, it has already arrived. That future is one of Inclusive Design. Sometimes referred to as Universal Design or Design for All, Inclusive design aims to provide products, services, and more generally, access to a larger segment of the population. The focus is typically on a few key demographics that have been historically underserved by traditional design. Those groups include children, the elderly, and those with a range of physical emotional or cognitive disabilities. The need for Inclusive Design was made clear to me while working on a recent project. While examining the social isolation that is prevalent in children undergoing long-term hospital care, it became apparent that not much existed in the way of including these children as members of a larger population. These children have specific subset of needs and concerns that exist along side their health condition. Ill children desire to feel connected to others in the same ways healthy children do, and it is imperative for them to find this connection because doing so increases both their physical and emotional health. Furthermore, inclusive design is not solely about creating products that solve problems, but about creating things that also address the stigma of needing to use assistive products . Though, this experience was eye opening, the subsequent research revealed that the need for inclusive design expands far outside the healthcare industry and touches nearly every facet of life. In this paper I will examine the recent trends in the field of Inclusive Design, specifically in United States, the UK, and Scandinavia, as a means of illustrating the need to design an inclusive future.