Author: Jane Bringolf

Playgrounds for all children

Guides for inclusive playgrounds for all children, and adults for that matter, basically provide the same information. This post provides links to some of them.

The most universally designed guide, is Everyone Can Play. With just three things to guide: Can I get there? Can I Play? Can I stay?

Part of the front cover of the Everyone Can Play Guideline. It has playful lettering.

Water and adventure play, and connection to Country and community, are now part of Everyone Can Play. The original guide broke new ground by taking a universal design approach from guide concept through to the design of the guide itself. The result was a very readable and informative guide with just the right amount of information. The update process followed a similar process. A great example of how an iterative process brings great results.

Inclusive Play guide from South Australia

Connection is a key element: Connect with place, Connect with each other, and Connect with self. The guide touches on aspects of play such as considering the senses and challenging activities across ages and levels of capability. The document concludes with some checklists for the preceding elements. These cover access, landscaping elements, layout, safety and location.

The document was found in a literature review of universal design play guidelines. The review is titled, “Designing public playgrounds for inclusion: a scoping review of grey literature guidelines for Universal Design.

Playspaces: Adventurous and Inclusive

Sanctuary magazine has a great article on nature play in parks and home gardens titled, Playspaces: Child’s play gets serious. Touched by Olivia has achieved many of its aims and is now part of Variety. For academics, the Sanctuary article is also available from Informit. 

An article from Denmark discusses the dangers of standardized playground equipment designed by adults with no input from children, who prefer to make their own play. You need institutional access for a free read.

Let’s play together in NZ

A case study from Auckland, New Zealand is a good example of how to create co-designed playspaces. The project began with a review of the existing facilities and how to achieve the outcomes within budget constraints.

The title of the article is, Te Pua Keith Park – Nau mai, Haere mai Let’s Play Together. The article has many photos that highlight the key areas of the playspace. There’s a useful reference list as well.

There is also a magazine article that shows photos of the many park elements and features.

Inclusion in Motion playground

The Town of Canandaigua has partnered with Dream Big! Inclusion in Motion, to bring a new park to the community that features a completely accessible and inclusive playground that everyone can play on, regardless of their level of ability or mobility. The development video gives a design overview. It is being completed as community funds allow.

Building playgrounds for children

An empty wooden swing hangs over green grass. Playgrounds for all children.

Inclusive play spaces are receiving more attention, but which equipment and design features are most suitable? Research in the US throws some light on this topic. Children, parents, teachers, landscape designers and equipment manufacturers all have a stake in the outcome. This means there are often gaps between what is required, what is available and what gets implemented.

Late-life loneliness: Co-designing a solution

Staying connected is an important part of designing for access and inclusion, but how do you engage with socially isolated people to find out the cause of their loneliness? They are disconnected to community and not willing to share their state of loneliness. But there is a way to co-design a solution for late-life loneliness without close contact.

Newspaper articles deemed as human interest stories elicit most letters from readers. So, is there a way to turn this into a method for finding out about loneliness in the community? The COVID pandemic created a wave of isolation resulting loneliness for a lot of people. But how can you engage isolated people in research? – they are after all, isolated and disconnected. The newspaper turned out to be a really good way to engage hard-to-reach people.

The title of the article is, Co-designing a solution against late-life loneliness with older adults through journalistic research in a newspaper. A really interesting way of conducting research.

An older woman sits at a table in a room with a tv behind her.

Abstract

This paper presents a comprehensive reference for an innovative low-contact co-design approach, aimed at mitigating sample bias commonly found in traditional co-design workshops for eHealth technologies. By partnering with a regional newspaper (134 000 readers), we engaged the broader public in the co-design process, to tackle the issue of late-life loneliness. We employed co-design fiction, dilemma-driven, and empathic design methods, integrating these within journalistic content to prompt the reader responses. This initiative attracted 77 responses, including 34 from older adults (65+ years), 27 of whom shared personal experiences with loneliness. Our findings highlight the potential of low-contact, co-design via newspapers to foster inclusive participation, overcoming the limitations of conventional workshops, and enabling engagement with a more representative population sample.

Better architecture with universal design

Numerous guidelines exist on adherence to standards, but what is designed will be used by people with diverse bodies, abilities. There is no typical user, only what is in the designer’s mind. But it isn’t just about access, it is about being inclusive. That’s where better architecture with universal design comes in.

“When thinking about accessibility in architecture, codes set the baseline, while design defines the ceiling.” Enrique Tovar

A parkland area with walking paths and grass in a city. People are walking and sitting on the grass in groups. It's better architecture.

Tovar writes in Archdaily about the application of universal design principles to create spaces that work for everyone. She discusses how to apply them to all projects – integrated and intrinsic features.

Tovar takes each of the seven classic principles of universal design and discusses them in detail. The article has lots of photos, some of which might pose some questions for dedicated followers of universal design. Nevertheless it is good to have such articles in mainstream professional magazines.

The title of the article is, How Do the 7 Principles of Universal Design Help Us Create Better Architecture?

From the summary

“While each of the principles of universal design is compelling and necessary in its own right, the real challenge for architects is to integrate them seamlessly and simultaneously into the overall design. The maxim that “the best accessibility is the one that goes unnoticed” resonates strongly in this context. Furthermore, since good architecture embodies inclusivity, it is crucial to acknowledge that accessibility is essential to this inclusiveness. If we aspire to create a society and built environment that are universally welcoming and inclusive, why not recognize that designing for everyone is a fundamental aspect of architecture?”

Good colour contrast for websites

How did you choose the colours for your last website update? Did you choose colours based on your brand logo and text or did you use the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) algorithm? But can the WCAG algorithm guarantee good legible colour contrasts for websites? Research by The University of Cambridge says it doesn’t. So they have developed an alternative algorithm for good colour contrast for websites. 

Five different coloured ovals with both black and white text for comparison. Human perception is better for good colour contrast for websites.
Examples of black and white text for comparison

The Accessible Perceptual Contrast Algorithm proposes that legibility of text on websites is better with perceived difference than a mathematical contrast ratio. White text on strong coloured backgrounds are preferred over black text in almost all cases in the study. 

In the examples above, the black text passes the WCAG contrast ratio but fails the white text. The Accessible Perceptual Contrast Algorithm passes the white text and fails the black text. 

Sam Waller explains this more fully in his article, Does the contrast ratio actually predict the legibility of website text? 

As a result of this work, an early working draft of WCAG 3 proposes using the new method for calculating contrast. 

This is important information for choosing brand logos and text so it isn’t just something web designers should know. Many website designs are guided by brand colours so choose carefully. This information is also important for product labelling especially for online shopping. 

Colour contrast enhances usability

Using eye tracking and similar software, researchers investigated the way users read and access information on websites. They chose a travel website and a banking website for the research. The study found that the positioning of information and increased contrast enhanced the ability to find key elements on the website.

The article takes a universal design approach to the study, and uses eye tracking technology. The study found that regardless of website context, universal design principles are key to creating effective and accessible interfaces.

The title of the article is Usability analysis of graphical interfaces of travel websites according to the universal design principles.

Colour perception can vary across cultures

 

Three smart phones showing the colour game.Anyone interested in optimal colours for web and phone might be interested in a project that came out of a colour matching game app. The game is based on colour perception. Feedback data showed designers how people perceive colour. With the help of academics they began to analyse the data in meaningful ways.

Preliminary analysis indicates there is a variation across countries. For example, Norwegians were better at colour matching than Saudi Arabians. Singaporeans struggled to identify greens, and Scandinavians did best with red-purple hues. Research papers are to follow which could lead to more inclusive colour choices. The article concludes, 

“But the fruits of the project live on in open source. A generic version of Jose’s tools to query the Specimen dataset are hosted here on github. My greatest hope is other researchers find and make use of what was gathered, and that other designers and engineers consider leveraging play in unexpected ways”.

The title of the article on FastCompany website is, Our viral app made less than $1,000. We’d still do it again.

Picture courtesy FastCompany.

8th principle of universal design?

The classic and often quoted 7 Principles of Universal Design were devised in the 1990s. The world has moved on, but many academics and practitioners remain committed to these principles. Steinfeld and Maisel updated them in 2012 to include cultural awareness as an 8th principle. In the 2020s we need to think more broadly again. A new paper proposes safety as the 8th principle, but maybe it should be the 9th.

The 7 Principles of Universal Design were devised at a time when designers were considered responsible for creating accessible designs. Now we know the benefits of involving users in the design process as well. Of course safety should be automatically considered in all designs, but are all designs safe for everyone? A group of researchers from Ireland make the links between universal design and safety.

Now we understand diversity better, perhaps 7, 8 or 9 principles are insufficient to cover all aspects of our lives and design. The concept of universal design is much broader than just accessibility. Image is a photo taken in 2004 at Center for Inclusive Design and Environmental Access.

Wall banner saying The essence of universal design lies in its ability to create beauty and mediate extremes without destroying differences in places, experiences and things

Feeling safe gives confidence

What do we mean by ‘safe’. Being safe and feeling safe are two different but related concepts. Not feeling safe can be just as limiting and exclusionary as lack of physical access. A conference paper from Ireland looks at this issue from a fear of falling perspective. Accessibility and safety don’t always go together.

Fear is a natural and essential reaction. Some people might limit or avoid activities outside the home because of the fear of falling. Others at an actual risk of falling might not consider falling as a risk. Neither condition is ideal.

The authors of the paper use examples of how design can make people feel safer. An obvious one is a handrail on a stairway. Having confidence to participate in everyday activities is good for health. Maintaining and restoring that confidence is another element of universal design.

The title of the paper is Widening the Circle: Is There an Eighth Principle for Universal Design?

From the abstract

The advantage of universal design over barrier-free design is it benefits everyone, regardless of age or ability. However design for personal safety outranks accessibility as a design The imperative to include design for personal safety even outranks accessibility as a requirement of a design.

The Seven Principles of Universal Design did not anticipate advanced standards of safety in today’s world. Whilst Principle Five – ‘Tolerance for Error’ gets close, it implies the user who is at fault not the designer. The very fear of falling, inability to find a public toilet, or feeling incapable erodes confidence.

We discuss the design of facilities that lead to lack of confidence. Fear of falling is one of the most limiting when it comes to getting out and about. We propose an additional principle: Reduction of Fear.

By joining forces with health and safety issues, universal design becomes more inclusive, desirable to client bodies, and attractive to everyone. There are areas where improvement in design is urgently required.

Is software design gender biased?

How much does software design impact the way women and men perform tasks? Seems there is a gender bias. A study found the amount of thinking required (cognitive load), aesthetics, and emotional design could affect task performance. The level of usability, however, has little significance when it comes to gender.

Gender is not factored into the design for usability or performing tasks. Female users are poorly represented in software development which means males are designing for themselves.

A woman is sitting in front of a computer screen which is displaying code. Other computer hardware is on the desk.

Language processing and visual perception are notably different in females and males. Technology applications usually need additional cognitive processing determined by emotional perception. They also need retained working and memory details. So if men are the ones designing software, they will build in a bias towards their cognitive strengths. Consequently, women deal with increased cognitive load when using software applications.

Reducing gender bias in software design

The study introduces the key theories and the study design. Twenty-three females and seventeen males were participants in the study. Statistical analyses support the findings. Cognitive load and emotional design was found to have more of an impact than aesthetics for females. Consequently, software design should aim to reduce cognitive load. Men were not significantly impacted on either variable indicating the design suited their them – hence the bias.

Stereotypes have a major role to play so particular colour schemes, icons and language are ineffective. Minimalist design principles are recommended to minimise distraction to keep attention on the task. Another recommendation is to make it clear what the next step in the task is the sequence. The key point is to integrate psychological and biological differences into technology applications.

Most software designers are men, while women are usually linked with the aesthetic aspect of software design.

Rows of computer code are laid over the face of a woman. representing accessible software.

The title of the paper is, Is software design gender biased? A study on software-design effect on task performance. This study is a step toward debunking previous assumptions that explain female task performance. The author makes a note about gender diversity.

From the abstract

Software design is critical to the development of software, but literature suggests a gender bias. This bias might be causing differences in task performance between males and females.  Applying cognitive load theory, emotional design theory and Aesthetic-Usability Effect we explore the differences between women and men.

The study was performed on two groups that possessed comparable educational backgrounds and professional experiences. The investigation encompassed two tasks aimed at evaluating performance in both professional and domestic contexts.

The study identified disparities among females, including high perception of cognitive load and lack of emotional design. It emphasizes the importance of incorporating phycological cognitive differences in design and ensuring inclusive design personas in software development.

Addressing the cognitive and emotional aspects of software design will reduce task performance discrepancies. It shifts the misbelief that task performance discrepancies are attributable to gender-based intellectual differences, rather than deficiencies in software design.

Overcoming bias in AI

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is entering our everyday lives with increased speed and sometimes without our knowledge. But it is only as good as the data it is fed, and the worry about bias is a concern for marginalised groups. AI has the potential to enhance life for everyone, but that requires overcoming bias in AI development. In his article, Christopher Land argues for more advocacy and transparency in AI.

The power of machine learning comes from pattern recognition within vast quantities of data. Using statistics, AI reveals new patterns and associations that human developers might miss or lack the processing power to uncover.

A background of computer code with a female face overlaid. Overcoming AI bias.

Designing for the average is fraught with problems. Statistical averages do not translate to some kind of human average. That’s because statistics don’t measure human diversity. That’s why AI processes are at risk of leaving some people behind. But in gathering useful data there are some privacy issues.

AI shows great promise with robot assistants to assist people with disability and older people with everyday tasks. AI imaging and recognition tools help nonvisual users understand video and pictures.

Christopher Land outlines how AI and machine learning work and how bias is introduced into AI systems if not prevented. He also has some recommendations on strengthening legal protections for people with disability. The paper is not technical. Rather it explains clearly how it works, where it’s used, and what needs to be done.

The title of the article is, Disability Bias & New Frontiers in Artificial Intelligence. The “Black Box” issue is explained and the need for a “Glass Box” is presented.

From the abstract

Bias in artificial intelligence (AI) systems can cause discrimination against marginalized groups, including people with disabilities. This discrimination is most often unintentional and due to a lack of training and awareness of how to build inclusive systems.

This paper has two main objectives: 1) provide an overview of AI systems and machine learning, including disability bias, for accessibility professionals and related non-development roles; and 2) discuss methods for building accessible AI systems inclusively to mitigate bias.

Worldwide progress on establishing legal protection against AI bias is provided, with recommendations on strengthening laws to protect people with disabilities from discrimination by AI systems. When built accessibly, AI systems can promote fairness and enhance the lives of everyone, in unprecedented ways.

Diversity and inclusion in AI

An Australian book chapter takes a comprehensive and practical approach to how equity and inclusion should be considered throughout development. This should be done at both governance and development levels by applying inclusive design and human-centred design to the AI ‘ecosystem’.

The title of the chapter is Diversity and Inclusion in Artificial Intelligence.

Applying UDL without knowing it

Seems you don’t have to know about UDL (Universal Design for Learning) in order to practice it. A study in the USA found that many instructors were applying UDL concepts without having actually heard of it. They call it serendipitous because it is accidentally beneficial.

Being able to take complex information and make it understandable is a key skill for instructors. The authors refer to this as sensemaking.

Image of a laptop computer in which an online learning lesson is taking place with a teacher standing in front of a chalkboard.

Instructors in higher education are often content matter experts but not trained in instructional design or inclusive practices. However, the researchers found that instructors were serendipitously implementing UDL without full knowledge of the framework.

The authors argue that this contradicts the belief that courses must be intentionally designed using UDL. They say this is explained with ‘sensemaking bridges’ of divergent viewpoints. This allows scholars to uphold both positions as well as supporting practitioners.

UDL and CAST

In the 1990s the nonprofit organisation CAST developed the UDL framework to account for learner diversity and variability. The three pillars are about multiple means of representation, action and expression, and engagement. The framework is one strategy that helps institutions carry out their commitment to accessibility.

To find out more about UDL, go to the Universal Design for Learning section of this website.

The title of the paper is, Signs of Serendipitous Universal Design for Learning in Online Courses.

From the abstract

Instructors in higher education are oftentimes content matter experts, but they may not have received training on instructional design or inclusive practices. However, instructors may serendipitously implement aspects of UDL without full knowledge of the framework.

This qualitative study used sensemaking theory to explore interview data from 33 online instructors with ten or more years of experience in online education.

First, analysis indicated that instructors used aspects of all three principles of UDL when designing and teaching their courses. Second, analysis found aspects of sensemaking—Noticing, Bracketing, Labeling, and Acting.

We suggest that sensemaking explains how instructors might incorporate parts of UDL into their course design without knowing about the framework. Further, we suggest that sensemaking could ease instructor transitions from serendipitously implementing strategies aligned with UDL to deliberately designing a course using a robust understanding of UDL as a framework.

Guests with disability: tourism employee attitudes

The right to enjoy leisure and travel is an important aspect of participating in everyday life. Most research on inclusive tourism is focused on user experiences, but little is known about tourism employee attitudes to guests with disability. So what do employees need to know and be able to do? A study from Norway explores the issues from the perspectives of employees and guests with disability.

Employee attitudes that were perceived by guests with disability as discriminatory are paradoxically caused by the fear of doing something wrong. Consequently, they often do nothing.

An older man in a suit sits in a wheelchair and is admiring flowers in the garden. An older woman leans forward from behind the wheelchair to look at what the man is holding.

The researchers held a collaborative stakeholder workshop to devise the questions for the two surveys – one for guests, and one for employees. The questions were designed to gain maximum information, and ensured correct language was used. The also checked they were universally designed, understandable, and precise.

Guests with disability said…

There were unhelpful or disrespectful employees, they felt neglected and that fellow travellers were sometimes more helpful. Some responses, such as rolling eyes and saying sick people should stay home, were also recorded. Travel processes, such as check in and ticketing are frustrating despite the best planning. Discrimination is particularly difficult for people with invisible disabilities.

Digital information is a problem when you need to use several digital tools at the same time. It takes digital competence to negotiate the apps. Special solutions are expected because there are few integrated universal solutions.

Tourism employees said…

The way they know they are dealing with a guest with disability is because it is visible or were told prior to arrival. Almost half the respondents said their company did not have guidelines for receiving guests with disabilities. Most said they felt comfortable interacting with guests, but others were worried they would say something wrong.

Most employees said they try to act just the same as they do with other clients. Others admitted to improvising because of their fear of doing something wrong. However, this often led to inaction. Most employees said they were interested in more training, but management doesn’t give the time. They also said ‘back office’ staff also needed the training.

The title of the paper is, Attitudes of Employees in Tourism Towards Guests with Disabilities in Norway” A Survey Study. The paper was presented at UD2024 in Norway.

The findings also relate to any service-driven business. It’s not just tourism.

From the abstract

Associations for people with disability in Norway receive much feedback about negative experiences with travel. There is little knowledge about what can be done to improve these experiences. With two digital surveys we mapped travel experiences of people with disability and attitudes of employees in the tourism industry.

A collaborative workshop with researchers, user representatives from a national disability organisation, and tourism employees formed the questions.

The results show that some of the employees’ discriminatory attitudes are paradoxically caused by fear of doing something wrong. They need more knowledge about invisible disabilities, and a company-level strategy for implementation of universal design in customer service.

Building capacity for engaged research

Talking about co-design and stakeholder engagement is one thing. Knowing how to do it is another. While organisations and universities like to make engagement central to their work, institutional practices are not keeping pace. Institutional policies, publishing pressures, and additional time needed stand in the way. Building capacity for engaged research is more than knowing how to run a focus group.

Engaged research embeds stakeholder views throughout the life of the research project. It encourages creation, and active collaboration with policy makers, practitioners and communities.

Graphic of seven human figures wearing casual clothing standing up from their chairs and looking upwards to the camera. Building research capacity.

A workshop was held mid 2024 to bring together research leaders with hands-on experiences. These are people who are keen to see their research improve things for society and individuals. They see this as a timely opportunity for key people to coordinate their efforts. The result is a large volume published by the National Academies Press containing the workshop discussions and ideas.

Partnering with communities, policy makers and others is challenging. Measuring the impact of such research requires a suitable evaluation system.

graphic of a bar graph with columns of different colours at different heights.

The book of proceedings has 8 chapters:

  • Introduction
  • Importance of engaged researach
  • Challenges and solutions: synthesising two landscape reviews
  • Promising approaches for addressing key tensions in community engaged research
  • Aligning mission and incentives: valuing and prioritizing engaged research
  • Valuing diverse forms of expertise
  • Aligning core values and measurements
  • Next steps for action

The title of the publication is, Building Institutional Capacity for Engaged Research. You can read free online. Note this is an academic text with long sentences.

From the introduction

The complex challenges facing society today call for new ways of doing research that bring researchers, policy makers, community leaders and members, industry stakeholders, and others together. The aim is to identify evidence needs, contribute different kinds of knowledge and expertise, and use evidence to accomplish shared goals.

Although momentum is building toward a research enterprise that more routinely enables and rewards this type of collaboration, the development of institutional capacities to support diverse forms of engaged research have not kept pace with the need for them.

Obstacles to accessible tourism

Why do hotels make their accessible rooms with bathrooms that look like a hospital? No wonder people don’t want to use them – even wheelchair users! That was one of the findings from a study of stakeholders’ perspectives. The study found many instances of outright discrimination, as well as misunderstandings about universal design. Clearly there are many obstacles to accessible tourism

While a diverse range of people can benefit from a more accessible environment, people with disability and older people are the primary beneficiaries of accessible tourism.

A person's hand is opening the door to a hotel room.

“At the time, we adapted to the regulations. What’s going on? You say “wow, how demanding the regulations are! It won’t be that bad”, but then, once you start working and the years go by, you realize that at the time, the regulations were not so demanding.” (Hotel manager)

26 people with disability and 57 tourism and public administration organisations were interviewed for the study. While some operators were in favour of accommodating people with disability, others were not supportive.

“A major obstacle for firms specializing in accessible tourism is discrimination of tourists with disabilities by some suppliers. “A receptionist sent an email to the hotel director but made a mistake and, instead, sent it to me. The email said: ‘Do I raise the price to this group to get rid of them?'” (Accessible travel agency manager)

From the conclusions

In the conclusions the authors say that despite the literature’s consensus on the importance of stakeholder collaboration, many questions regarding barriers remain unanswered. Lack of stakeholder cooperation is a major obstacle to expanding accessible tourism. Hoteliers are influenced by non-disabled guests complaining about disabled guests.

Companies adhere to minimum regulatory requirements which stems from a lack of knowledge underpinned by lack of research. Culturally ingrained misconceptions lead to perceptions that investment in accessibility is a liability rather than an asset.

Discrimination is prevalent in the case of people with intellectual disability. Many tourists and entrepreneurs perceive accessible design as aesthetically unappealing. This is likely due to sticking to design regulations that are best suited for the public domain, not an hotel.

The research paper concludes with recommendations which include standardising universal design and enhancing aesthetic appeal. Enhancing market awareness and sharing success stories is another strategy. Improving legal regulations and addressing discriminatory attitudes are also essential.

The title of the paper is, What is stopping the process? Analysis of obstacles to accessible tourism from a stakeholders’ perspective.

From the abstract

People with disability still encounter many hurdles when travelling. This study aims at identifying the factors hindering the development of accessibility in tourist destinations. To this end, we developed a stakeholder analysis using the Spanish Costa Blanca as a case study.

Employing a qualitative approach, insights from accessible tourism stakeholders were gathered. Data was collected through 83 semi-structured interviews. The research revealed instances of non-collaborative relationships and conflicts among stakeholders, which are acting as obstacles to accessible tourism.

We found firms, and customers without disability, discriminated against tourists with disability. There are inconsistencies in legislation, or challenges associated with the implementation of universal design.

This is what is needed

Joined up thinking on accessibility for a seamless chain of services is good for everyone, locals and tourists alike. They make great places to live in as well. See video below from Ireland’s National Tourism Development Authority, Fáilte Ireland.