Inclusive Design and the Inevitable Future (original) (raw)

Abstract

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.

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