Improving inclusive design practice - transferring knowledge from sports design practice

Despite the existence of many design tools to educate and assist the designer in implementing inclusive design, there is still a lack of inclusive design uptake in industry. The client is often cited as a barrier to inclusive design uptake, therefore it is important that this issue is addressed if inclusive design uptake is to be increased. Sports design is a highly user focused discipline, therefore it is anticipated that there is scope for inclusive design to learn from this user centred discipline. This research aims to investigate the potential of applying the sports design process within an inclusive design context to increase inclusive design uptake in industry. The paper reports on a practical study, which interviewed practicing industry designers and designers from a UK centre specialising in inclusive design. The outcome is a set of recommendations from designers on how the sports design process model can be developed to facilitate inclusive design uptake in industry

Inclusive design as the center of the learning process

[EN] The Cultural Interpretation sector related to architectural heritage comprises a field of applied research, with a major impact on the development and availability of specifically adapted and inclusive resources. Nowadays, smart and sustainable development are common goals of mankind. That includes the social participation of people in learning and leisure. This paper shows an approach to the design of in-situ learning experiences. This study was carried out by a multidisciplinary team of researchers at the Universitat Politècnica de València (Spain). The goals are to increase the use of learning artifacts ant to improve the user experience as well. Inclusive design offers choice where a single design solution cannot accommodate all users. The case of an informative solution for interpretation and learning of the Central Market of Valencia is explained. The main difficulty is the simultaneous use of the site as a commercial spot and a tourist attraction. Segmentation, technical options, and creativity are mixed.This work is part of the research `Innovación y Diseño de recursos y contenidos de sustrato gráfico para la interpretación y la educación inclusivas_INDICO, supported by Generalitat Valenciana (AICO, Ref /2017/046). We would also like to thank our technical assistant María Carrillo, for her work in the design and development of the deliveries and the enthusiastic EPS team: Arne Meylemans, Julia Norbart, August Baun Christensen, Tim Hartstra, Ruxandra Bituleanu, Philipp Hoffmann. We would like also give credit to the staff from different workshops of the Escuela Técnica Superior de Ingeniería del Diseño.Fuentes-Durá, P.; Puyuelo, M.; Val Fiel, M. (2019). Inclusive design as the center of the learning process. IATED. 10347-10355. https://doi.org/10.21125/edulearn.2019.2600S103471035

Contours of Inclusion: Inclusive Arts Teaching and Learning

The purpose of this publication is to share models and case examples of the process of inclusive arts curriculum design and evaluation. The first section explains the conceptual and curriculum frameworks that were used in the analysis and generation of the featured case studies (i.e. Understanding by Design, Differentiated Instruction, and Universal Design for Learning). Data for the cases studies was collected from three urban sites (i.e. Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Boston) and included participant observations, student and teacher interviews, curriculum documentation, digital documentation of student learning, and transcripts from discussion forum and teleconference discussions from a professional learning community.The initial case studies by Glass and Barnum use the curricular frameworks to analyze and understand what inclusive practices look like in two case studies of arts-in-education programs that included students with disabilities. The second set of precedent case studies by Kronenberg and Blair, and Jenkins and Agois Hurel uses the frameworks to explain their process of including students by providing flexible arts learning options to support student learning of content standards. Both sets of case studies illuminate curricular design decisions and instructional strategies that supported the active engagement and learning of students with disabilities in educational settings shared with their peers. The second set of cases also illustrate the reflective process of using frameworks like Universal Design for Learning (UDL) to guide curricular design, responsive instructional differentiation, and the use of the arts as a rich, meaningful, and engaging option to support learning. Appended are curriculum design and evaluation tools. (Individual chapters contain references.

Inclusive design: making packaging easier to open for all

Social equality demands a shift in attitude, away from treating older people and people with disabilities as special cases requiring special design solutions, and towards enabling them to have equal access to any product or service through a more inclusive approach to the design of buildings, public spaces and, more recently, products and services. This is not just important for social equality but also for business growth through new products and services and through creating wider potential markets. Consumer packaging is a field in which many people, including young able bodied people, often struggle in relation to openability. Until now, the main thrust of inclusive design in the consumer packaging field has been driven by art and design disciplines, focusing on the shape and ergonomics of the packaging or cognitive solutions in order to make them easier to open. This approach does not always work first time and a time consuming, materially expensive trial and error process often ensues. This paper outlines all the arguments for inclusive design, stressing the importance for both consumers and business. This paper also outlines an engineering design approach for inclusive design that uses real human factors as design limits, resulting in packaging that will be easily opened by all it’s end users without the expensive trial and error approach that has been used up to this point in time. The example of the Roll-On-Pilfer-Proof (ROPP) closure system is used in this paper

Innovating With People - The Business of Inclusive Design

This book brings together the complex academic knowledge that exists in inclusive design and presents it in an accessible format suitable for trade and industry. Co-written with Onny Eikhaug of the Norwegian Design Council, it is a ‘first of its kind’ publication aimed at taking the inclusive design research process into the industrial arena and effecting real knowledge exchange. The research combined academic thinking with market case studies and business evidence for the innovation value of inclusive design. It outlines eight inclusive design activities that could be added to any business/innovation process and nine basic tools for conducting people-centred research. The book addresses both the need to take inclusive design research into the business arena and the Norwegian Government’s ambitious targets for inclusive design by 2025. It builds on practical inclusive design research with Norwegian companies and a series of knowledge-transfer events, most notably two conferences in 2008 and 2010 entitled the ‘European Business Conference on Inclusive Design’. The publication has provided a platform for Gheerawo to undertake further research on the business value and application of inclusive design, including knowledge-exchange workshops, executive education and projects with BlackBerry, Samsung, NorDan, Kinnarps, Stannah and the London Creative and Digital Fusion. He also ran an executive education workshop in Oslo with Eikhaug on inclusive design in 2012, based on the methods and frameworks in the book, with 130 delegates from 14 countries; he organised and spoke at the ‘Ageing and Design – Global Business Perspectives’ conference in Hong Kong in 2012, resulting in a partnership with the Institute of Design Knowledge, Hong Kong Design Centre; gave presentations globally in cities including Moscow, Hamamatsu, Salamanca, Hong Kong and Prague; and was appointed guest editor on the subject for two journals: Design Philosophy Papers in 2011 and The Design Journal in 2013

Study protocol: developing a decision system for inclusive housing: applying a systematic, mixed-method quasi-experimental design

Background Identifying the housing preferences of people with complex disabilities is a much needed, but under-developed area of practice and scholarship. Despite the recognition that housing is a social determinant of health and quality of life, there is an absence of empirical methodologies that can practically and systematically involve consumers in this complex service delivery and housing design market. A rigorous process for making effective and consistent development decisions is needed to ensure resources are used effectively and the needs of consumers with complex disability are properly met. Methods/Design This 3-year project aims to identify how the public and private housing market in Australia can better respond to the needs of people with complex disabilities whilst simultaneously achieving key corporate objectives. First, using the Customer Relationship Management framework, qualitative (Nominal Group Technique) and quantitative (Discrete Choice Experiment) methods will be used to quantify the housing preferences of consumers and their carers. A systematic mixed-method, quasi-experimental design will then be used to quantify the development priorities of other key stakeholders (e.g., architects, developers, Government housing services etc.) in relation to inclusive housing for people with complex disabilities. Stakeholders randomly assigned to Group 1 (experimental group) will participate in a series of focus groups employing Analytical Hierarchical Process (AHP) methodology. Stakeholders randomly assigned to Group 2 (control group) will participate in focus groups employing existing decision making processes to inclusive housing development (e.g., Risk, Opportunity, Cost, Benefit considerations). Using comparative stakeholder analysis, this research design will enable the AHP methodology (a proposed tool to guide inclusive housing development decisions) to be tested. Discussion It is anticipated that the findings of this study will enable stakeholders to incorporate consumer housing preferences into commercial decisions. Housing designers and developers will benefit from the creation of a parsimonious set of consumer-led housing preferences by which to make informed investments in future housing and contribute to future housing policy. The research design has not been applied in the Australian research context or elsewhere, and will provide a much needed blueprint for market investment to develop viable, consumer directed inclusive housing options for people with complex disability

Evaluation of an Inclusive Design Framework for Apparel Designed for Baby Boomer Women

The purpose of the research was to evaluate an inclusive design framework that guided the apparel design process for a mini-collection of garments intended for baby boomer women. This is important because an aging U.S. baby boomer population has resulted in a larger percentage of individuals with disabilities and special apparel needs. Increasingly, apparel designers will need to develop solutions that can address a range of needs without calling attention to individual differences. The inclusive design framework has the potential to aid in apparel design processes that include segments of the population that are often overlooked. Additionally, the inclusive design process has not been fully evaluated for use in apparel design and there is a need to fully document and evaluate inclusive design frameworks

Inclusive Design In Action – A Case Study Describing The Design Of Social Area Seating In A University

This practice paper outlines the inclusive design process used in the redesign of communal/social seating in an Engineering faculty in a University in Ireland. The old seating was not being utilised by the students. Engineering courses often present challenging assignments to students; literature shows that access to information, knowledge exchanges and opportunities for learning through social interaction can be crucial to student success. Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) has grown as an important agenda item across society. Therefore, the methodology used in this redesign was inclusive design. Inclusive design is a design framework that takes into account the diversity of the human race and embraces co-design to ensure no one is excluded. It is “…not designing one product for all people; instead, it’s designing a diversity of ways to participate so that everyone has a sense of belonging”(Holmes 2018). The design team on this project was composed of a voluntary, diverse group of students and staff. The data collection methods employed was a design walk through of the University, a faculty-wide survey, and a design hackathon. The inclusive design process resulted in various social seating designs that addressed the needs of a broad range of users, including those with physical disabilities and sensory impairments. The final designs are available for perusal in Appendix 2, that show a more inclusive space for students and staff to interact and collaborate. The findings of this study highlight the importance of using an inclusive design process when designing academic environments. By involving a diverse group of stakeholders in the design process, the resulting spaces can better cater to the needs of all users. The recommendation is for other higher education institutions to consider implementing inclusive design principles in their design processes to ensure all members of their community are catered for, leading to a more inclusive and accessible academic environment for all

Just design

Inclusive design prescribes addressing the needs of the widest possible audience in order to consider human differences. Taking differences seriously, however, may imply severely restricting “the widest possible audience”. In confronting this paradox, we investigate to what extent Rawls’ theory of justice as fairness applies to design. By converting the paradox into the question of how design can be fair, we show that the demand for equitability shifts from the design output to the design process. We conclude that the two main questions about justice find application in design: the question about the standards of justice and the question about its metrics. We endorse a Rawlsian approach to the former, while some revision may be due regarding the latter

The role of flow experience in codesigning open-design assistive devices

This paper describes the theoretical framework of an inclusive participatory design approach which leads to qualitative occupational experiences within the field of community-based rehabilitation. The aim is to support voluntarily controlled activities by applying co-construction theories to disabled users and their dynamic environment. The starting point of this open design process is a threefold interaction involving caregivers, patients and occupational therapists within their local product ecology. Co-creation is used as a set of iterative techniques to steer the patient towards flow experiences. Do-it-Yourself is consecutively applied as physical prototyping, communication language and personal manufacturing process. By implementing this active engagement process disabled people and their carers become conscious actors in providing collaborative maintenance of their own physical, mental and social well-being