Building knowledge on Universal Design through direct user contact in design workshops (original) (raw)
Related papers
Universal Design 2021: From Special to Mainstream Solutions
For the creation of inclusive design solutions, designers require relevant knowledge about a diversity of users throughout the design process. Besides understanding users’ needs and expectations, the ways in which users perceive and experience the environment contain valuable knowledge for designers. Since users’ perceptions and experiences are mainly tacit by nature, they are much more difficult to communicate and therefore more difficult to externalize. Hence, more insight is needed into the ways designers can build knowledge on Universal Design through direct user contact. In a project called ‘Light up for all’ architecture students are asked to design a light switch and socket, elegant, usable and understandable to the greatest extent possible by everyone. Two workshops with user/experts are organized in the first stages of the design process in which students could gain insight into users’ experiences and perceptions through direct contact. Three data collection techniques are ...
User-Involved Universal Design Experience in The Space, Product and Service Development Process
ICONARP, International Journal of Architecture & Planning, 2018
Designs aimed at the involvement of disabled people in social life are thought to bring the disabled users into a situation isolating them from the society. This study aims to emphasize that with the use of universal design principles, rather than making different designs for each user group, the space, products and services available to everyone can be revealed. This study was carried out with the view that space, products and services designed by universal design principles can be used by the disabled and that the disabled are an integral part of the society. The study was conducted with three study groups, which were formed by the active involvement of disabled individuals. Working groups focused on designs that can serve all users with reference to the experiences, expectations and needs of individuals with disabilities. At the end of the study, groups designed spaces, products and services that meet the needs of disabled people with universal design principles and provide routi...
Key influences on the user-centred design process
Journal of Engineering Design, 2009
To develop inclusive design materials that are well suited to design practice and thus more likely to be adopted, a better understanding of this practice is needed. A triangulated study was thus conducted, including observations of case studies, interviews with designers and a literature review. The study examined many aspects of design practice, focusing on the consideration of users and influences on method uptake. Four overarching themes were identified: clients' influence, informality, variation, and time and cost constraints. Implications include the need to educate clients in the value of inclusive design; the need for informal, cheap, yet insightful inclusive design methods; and the value of providing a range of flexible materials for different design situations.
The reason for undertaking this research came as a need to understand the users, their interactions and activities in the natural context. Understanding these three factors gives rise to the effective outcomes of design processes. For clarification and validity of this research, the next paragraph and sections will highlight the issues and contributions from different fields of architecture, interaction design, urbanism, psychology, anthropology, healthcare, human-computer interaction, user experience design and business respectively. Humans need to be understood in order for their needs to be met as they are the core of any process. For these needs to be met, the environment they interact with should comply with their activities. One of the many ways this can be achieved is by adhering to the aspect of design that appeals to human needs in the built environment. Where the built environment here refers either the virtual (intangible) and physical (tangible) environment. The most prominent aspect of the human anatomy that appeals more to the design process beyond taste and smell are the auditory, visual and tactile aspect respectively. All these aspects work in unison to enhance the user experience in any given environment, especially the built environment. The attributes of the built environment that combine to form a system, designer should follow to design effective environments are the psychological and the physical attributes, as these should be understood before designing environments for human. Understanding human needs in the natural environment is crucial to creating systems and processes tailored to their needs. For effective representation of information, stressing the need for clarity, simplicity and order is important in addition to making things visible. Though a few things need to be considered such as individual differences and variation in addition to accessibility issues. This will result in a happier and satisfied user, as it will reduce confusion, mis-interpretation, error and ultimately frustration. Over the years, computing has drifted from personal computing to ubiquitous systems which is totally becoming smaller and Intangible making it possible for people to communicate seamlessly. This has created the affordance of designers and researchers to develop systems and processes that support such with the consideration of outliers who are people with special needs or capabilities. People with special needs abound everywhere, but to what extent has their needs been met? This leads the researcher to design with a purpose. Design research is a process employed by designers to solve design problems by seeking to understand human needs, which can be achieved when the researcher takes time to observe and participate in human activities. Researching with outliers and people with special needs is crucial for effective and useful functionality because collaborating with such stake holders gives meaning to inclusive design. Interdisciplinary collaboration and participatory design is crucial to the design process especially in the built environments, and therefore the design process should be seen as an avenue for interdisciplinary learning and inclusion. This invariably brings knowledge of each discipline, group and stakeholder represented to the table. This allows for knowledge sharing leading to the adoption of patterns in a unified manner that draws from the collaborative design process in interdisciplinary teams and collaborative groups.
CRITICAL USER FORUMS -AN EFFECTIVE USER RESEARCH METHOD FOR INCLUSIVE DESIGN
Inclusive, or universal, design is about designing more accessible products and services for the widest possible range of users, regardless of age and capabilities. It requires better understanding and empathy with all potential users. Traditional user research methods are limited in accommodating a wide range of users and hence there is a need to find more appropriate methods of user research for inclusive design. This paper describes a method called 'Critical User Forums,' which involves direct interaction between design teams and a mixed group of users with severe disabilities. The evaluation of the effectiveness of this method for inclusive design is based on the interviews of eight UK design consultancies that took part in a design competition emphasising inclusive design and involving users, known as the DBA Design Challenge. The contribution of critical users to the DBA projects is discussed and the design teams' viewpoints on such user involvement in the process are investigated. It concludes that Critical User Forums provide an ideal chance for designers to understand a wider range of users through direct interaction with them and thus helping designers build empathy with all potential users.
An action research project was set up to explore the switching of the roles of users and designers within the process of designing an exhibition for the Helen Hamlyn Research Associates Programme, a pioneer programme to promote inclusive design through collaboration with design industry partners. At the end of a one-year programme, all the research associates present their works at a symposium and collective exhibition. This paper describes the co-design process undertaken by 12 Helen Hamlyn Research Associates in 2004 in designing their annual inclusive design exhibition. The paper aims at demonstrating how a group of young inclusive designers become active users when they are invited to become involved in the process of designing their exhibition.
The reason for undertaking this research came as a need to understand the users, their interactions and activities in the natural context. Understanding these three factors gives rise to the effective outcomes of design processes. For clarification and validity of this research, the next paragraph and sections will highlight the issues and contributions from different fields of architecture, interaction design, urbanism, psychology, anthropology, healthcare, human-computer interaction, user experience design and business respectively. Humans need to be understood in order for their needs to be met as they are the core of any process. For these needs to be met, the environment they interact with should comply with their activities. One of the many ways this can be achieved is by adhering to the aspect of design that appeals to human needs in the built environment. Where the built environment here refers either the virtual (intangible) and physical (tangible) environment. The most prominent aspect of the human anatomy that appeals more to the design process beyond taste and smell are the auditory, visual and tactile aspect respectively. All these aspects work in unison to enhance the user experience in any given environment, especially the built environment. The attributes of the built environment that combine to form a system, designer should follow to design effective environments are the psychological and the physical attributes, as these should be understood before designing environments for human. Understanding human needs in the natural environment is crucial to creating systems and processes tailored to their needs. For effective representation of information, stressing the need for clarity, simplicity and order is important in addition to making things visible. Though a few things need to be considered such as individual differences and variation in addition to accessibility issues. This will result in a happier and satisfied user, as it will reduce confusion, mis-interpretation, error and ultimately frustration. Over the years, computing has drifted from personal computing to ubiquitous systems which is totally becoming smaller and Intangible making it possible for people to communicate seamlessly. This has created the affordance of designers and researchers to develop systems and processes that support such with the consideration of outliers who are people with special needs or capabilities. People with special needs abound everywhere, but to what extent has their needs been met? This leads the researcher to design with a purpose. Design research is a process employed by designers to solve design problems by seeking to understand human needs, which can be achieved when the researcher takes time to observe and participate in human activities. Researching with outliers and people with special needs is crucial for effective and useful functionality because collaborating with such stake holders gives meaning to inclusive design. Interdisciplinary collaboration and participatory design is crucial to the design process especially in the built environments, and therefore the design process should be seen as an avenue for interdisciplinary learning and inclusion. This invariably brings knowledge of each discipline, group and stakeholder represented to the table. This allows for knowledge sharing leading to the adoption of patterns in a unified manner that draws from the collaborative design process in interdisciplinary teams and collaborative groups.
2010
User centred design research methodologies are usually adopted to inform design practice. Here, this paper proposes a case for the potentially key role of design practice, and the value of artefacts, as a fundamental methodological approach to user-centred research. This paper reflects on the evolution of design research and the growing recognition of the value of interdisciplinary user-centred research methodologies in product development. The paper will describe three practice based design research case studies, directed by the author, that highlight the challenges and limitations of more traditional user-centred research methodologies. The paper will demonstrate and help define the role of design as research (critical design), and the key role of artefacts as tools to access tacit knowledge and as an aid to communication in the context of research. There is a wide spectrum of ways in which users are involved in user-centred design activity. Generally users are consulted about their needs and involved at specific times during the design process typically in the early stages to establish requirements and later for usability testing. There currently exists few case studies that challenge and clearly define the value of user engagement in design research and articulates designing as research. This paper presents a case for a user-centred design research method where 'users' and other stakeholders are involved as concurrent partners with the designers throughout the design process.
Users as Designers is the main design philosophy of Waag Society. It states that real users should be the ones to define design requirements. When the user and designer work together according to this design philosophy, they both take on multiple roles throughout the design process. This philosophy relies strongly on empathy, subjectivity of interpretation, personal intuition, human interaction and trust, with research integrated in the development process and development being the focus of its research. By involving prospective users in the design process, the results are likely to bring meaningful perspectives and options into the hands of people. This leads to better systems that are designed with the user in mind. Adoption and appropriation of the results become far more likely than by using traditional methods of development. In this publication, Waag Society focuses on a hands-on description of its methods. Hereby, we hope to spread the use of Users as Designers; improve our own understanding by sharing and learning from the responses, and eventually sowing and growing seeds of change that we hope will flourish.