A universal design approach to all things designed is a smart approach for every organisation and business. This is not new information to followers of universal design principles. However, we need to keep saying it to remind all designers to be inclusive with their designs. It is a smart approach with economic benefits as a Getaboutable blog post says.
“By considering universal design from the outset, businesses and institutions can foster inclusivity while also achieving long-term efficiencies.”
CUDA followers are aware of the benefits, but the Getaboutable blog post is a good example of how to explain these to others. It covers all the usual suspects such as being beyond compliance and the benefit of a proactive approach.
Benefits of a smart approach
Universal design improves usability, enhances customer and employee satisfaction, and often leads to innovative solutions that serve a broader audience. Organisations that integrate universal design principles early in their planning process can realise significant advantages:
Cost Savings: Addressing accessibility needs from the start is far more cost-effective than retrofitting solutions later. Fixing non-compliant infrastructure or redesigning a digital platform after launch is expensive and disruptive.
Broader Market Reach: An inclusive approach allows businesses to connect with a more diverse audience. With over 1.3 billion people worldwide living with a disability—many of whom influence purchasing decisions—universal design is also a smart business strategy.
Regulatory Compliance: Many industries face increasing legal and ethical expectations around accessibility. Taking a universal design approach helps organisations stay ahead of evolving standards and avoid potential legal challenges.
Economic Benefit: Investing in universal design is not just a social responsibility; it also makes sound economic sense. Research indicates that companies leading in disability inclusion outperform their peers financially. Over a five-year period, such companies experienced 1.6 times more revenue and 2.6 times more net income than others.*
Australian Disability Network has created a fun video on employing people with disability. The messages are easy to take in especially with the humour – both presenters are stand-up comedians with disability. It’s all part of a campaign titled, “Choose Inclusion”.
The title of the fun six minute video is, It’s Not Hard to be Inclusive with the hashtag #RemoveBarriers. The film was created after consultation with people with disability.
Australian Disability Network will share case studies, articles, workplace tips, and fact sheets in the weeks leading up to December 3. The aim is for organisations to remove employment barriers for people with disability. Of course, the information is good for older employees too. The Choose Inclusion campaign resources are available to ADN members.
The presenters have fun with some of the common misconceptions about disability and then provide some interesting facts. So, a really good video to share with HR departments and managers responsible for recruiting.
Australians will be invited to share their own stories and tips to choose inclusion across social media, using the hashtags #ChooseInclusion #RemoveBarriers and #IDPwD2024. Australian Disability Network was previously known as Australian Network on Disability. They focus on engaging and educating employers.
Industry’s ideas about the usability of their products doesn’t match those of older people. That’s what the Centre for Modern Ageing found in their survey of 1000 older people and product design. Given Australia’s ageing population, product designers should focus more on making everyday products more user-friendly. That means taking a universal design approach and using co-design methods.
A word cloud created a visual representation of how many times respondents used a word to describe the difficulties they have with product design. And these are everyday products. The image is from the report.
Key findings from the survey
Key findings focused on products older people use in their daily lives.
93% said product usability supports independent living
43% rarely or never seek assistance to operate the product even when dissatisfied with product usability
More than 50% believe products are not user-friendly.
The Image is from the report.
Grip issues related to slippery handles, tight lids, weight of products, and small text on labels and confusing instructions weren’t helpful either. Product packaging is also a challenge and probably not just for older people.
Electronic devices with menus and different functions as well as issues connecting devices to others and to networks were difficult and challenging.
TheInclusive Design Toolkitfrom the University of Cambridge has an Exclusion Calculator to show how many people can’t use a design due to their level of capability. It covers most of the issues discussed in the report. It’s an excellent online resource for product designers.
Note that some designs are potentially covered by the Australian Disability Discrimination Act.
Useability of small kitchen appliances
Meal preparation is something most of us do every day. It’s not until you can’t do it that you realise how much it impacts on wellbeing, independence and quality of life.
Researchers from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee worked with General Electric to develop an audit tool they can apply to the design of their small appliances. The tool can be used by engineers, retailers and individuals as well.
The title of the tool is Small Kitchen Appliance Accessibility and Universal Design Information Tool (SKA AUDIT). It includes 7 features: doors, lids, dials, on/off water reservoirs, buttons and “ready” indicators. Both physical and cognitive conditions were considered in the development of the tool.
Arthritis is a common condition and is not often referred to as a disability. However, the pain of arthritis is disabling. So how to design out pain? Design Council ran a workshop with people with arthritis. They found that no-one was interested in special products, which are often stigmatising. So the principle of inclusive design became the top issue.
“Inclusive design is crucial. You have to step away from the idea that it’s “older people” having a problem and start looking at a universal problem and therefore a universal solution.”
They found the most important thing is that people want desirable, stylish, mainstream products that anyone would want to own. People don’t want medicalised, stigmatising equipment. Clearly, including the user-voice is the way to design for all rather than the mythical average.
The article is titled, Ollie Phelan of Versus Arthritis writes about the importance of the end-user being at the heart of design, and can be accessed on the Medium.com website where there is more information.
Inclusive instructions for domestic appliances
Is your new kitchen gadget or appliance intuitive to use? How about the instructions on the device? Every model of microwave, even within the same brand, has a different operating system. This doesn’t help. And some of the icons that are meant to guide the user don’t make sense to everyone in the same way. So what can industrial designers do about creating inclusive instructions for domestic appliances? A human-centred design approach provides some answers.
Three researchers looked at how this problem can be solved because kitchen appliances are an essential part of life now. Their study took the perspective of older adults, which implies they are the only group with cognition and mental processing issues. Once again, what might be good for some will be good for many others.
The researchers came up with a coding system to help designers and used a microwave as the case study. The coding system considers four aspects of users’ interactions with a microwave. Briefly they are:
Information processing – gathering and interpreting information
Interactions with the microwave’s user interface and control panel
Listening to the users as they use the device
Impediments to the user’s workflow
The study describes their process for developing the coding system for designers, and the details each of the four elements of the code. While other studies use a series of personas, this study used real people and their negative experiences. The researchers also linked the microwave use with ready meal packaging. This allowed them to see the difficulties in interpreting the cooking information and relating it to the device.
Getting it right for users
Simple turning knobs and switches with numbered dials are a thing of the past. So anyone who has difficulty transitioning to a digital display is going to be disadvantaged. Microwaves are an essential tool for people who have difficulty preparing a meal because they can heat ready-made meals.
Poor organisation of information appeared to be a powerful factor in influencing users’ information processing and interactions. The key appears to be getting both sequencing information together as well as activity grouping information. This poses further challenges.
Involving real people and not personas is the key to resolving design issues for users. The researchers acknowledge that getting it right for older people means benefits for many other users.
How do you measure diversity and inclusion in the workplace if people don’t identify as being in a defined or separate category? And why should they? Diverse from what or whom? What is the baseline measure and who is doing the measuring? And is disability or ageing considered part of the diverse workforce population? A research team in Italy had a look at workplace diversity, design and strategy to assess the state of play.
“The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted how much the physical environment can affect people’s well-being, mental health, social relationships, customs and habits.”
In their paper, the researchers discuss examples of workplaces that claim to promote a culture of diversity and reduced discrimination. Many have created positions for “Diversity and Inclusion Managers” to asses the mismatch between company and employee perceptions of inclusion. Details of the research methodology include diversity types, design features, workplace policies and strategies.
Disability, race, gender
Company reports embrace and list diversity features. The most cited diversity feature is disability, followed by ethnicity/race, gender, sexual orientation and age. However, ignoring this listing and focusing on inclusion and accessibility provides other measures of success.
Inclusion is when “an employee feels a sense of community and belonging in a work system, being accepted by others for their unique characteristics and treated as an insider.”
Companies focus on HR policies for inclusion but don’t address aspects such as workspace design. This separation neglects the role of architectural and interior design. However, there is research on the physical elements of workplace design. Floor plans, acoustic comfort, choice of materials and green building certifications all have a role to play.
Diversity and inclusion is more than a policy or strategy. Organisations need to join the dots between employment practices and the design of the workplace. For people with disability in particular both are essential. An inclusive corporate culture together with an appropriately designed physical environment is what’s required. That’s universal design in action.
While organisations of all types claim to be implementing diversity strategies in the workplace, it isn’t easy to measure their validity. The video from the UK is a parody on employers who say their organisations are diverse.
From the abstract
This paper explores how scientific literature and company reports address inclusive workplace design and strategies. It asks the following question: To what extent is inclusion present in workplace design and related strategies?
We analysed 27 scientific papers and 25 corporate social responsibility reports of the highest-ranked companies in the Great Place to Work global ranking. We disentangled the main aspects related to workplace design and strategies for promoting inclusion.
This paper reports on four macro-categories of diversity that support the development of inclusive workplace design. These are psychophysical; cultural; socio-economic conditions; and ability, experience and strengths.
Although diversity, equity and inclusion (DE&I) is key in many organizations, it remains unclear how DE&I principles are applied in workspace design and strategies. This scoping review integrates scientific knowledge and practice-based approaches which address this matter independently.
School to work transition
The transitioning from school to work report indicates that outcomes can be improved for young people with disability. But only when mechanisms are in place to enhance what is usually available within schools, post school education and in the disability employment ecosystem.
Despite a policy context in Australia that professes to policy goals of increased employment for people with disability and successful school to work transition, people with disability remain less likely to complete year 12, attend university, or gain work experience and employment than their peers.
In 2012, Ticket to Work commenced as an initiative to change these outcomes and bring evidence-based transition practice to Australia. It’s an innovative approach aimed at improving transition to work from school for young people with disability.
This report:
Brings together the international research evidence about elements that result in successful transition from school to work for young people with disability
Provides an analysis of the ecosystem in which young people with disability experience transition from school in Australia, and
Gives a description of the Australian transition initiative, Ticket to Work and its impact on transition for this group
Older supermarket shoppers need a positive attitude from employees, functional shopping trolleys, and appropriate placement of products on shelves. Retail stores are public space and they should look good and be functional. Therefore a universal design approach can prevent shopping malls from being ageist.
Key design elements are: seamless entry, easy to use shopping trolleys, finding and reaching products, reading product contents and price tags, and a smooth payment process.
Apart from helpful staff and functional equipment, there are other elements to consider.
Circulation systems and spaces: ramps, elevators, escalators, hallways and corridors
Entering and exiting: identifying and approaching entrances and exits and moving through them easily
Wayfinding: Graphical text, pictograms, maps, photos, diagrams, obvious paths of travel, nodes, edges, zones and districts
Obtaining products and services: service desks waiting areas and shops
Public amenities: toilets and seating
Ambient conditions: noise control, non-glare lighting, adequate temperature and humidity
A paper titled, Design Failure in Indoor Shopping Structures: Unconscious Ageism and Inclusive Interior Design in Istanbul explains more. The authors use the 7 principles of universal design as a guide and add another 4. The additional four principles are related to aesthetics, social participation, sustainability and equity. They also found that toilets and seating within supermarkets could do much to improve the shopping experience for older people.
As older adults’ need for toilets increases, the time spent in the supermarket declines. So they choose medium or small-sized supermarkets within walking distance of home.
Age inclusive shopping mall design
A 2024 article from the Netherlands continues the story of shopping mall design and older people. The term “the elderly” is used throughout, which is not the preferred term in Australia.
Good controlled lighting, reduced background noise, warmer temperatures, clear pathways with good lines of sight are essential. Shopping is for many older people, an enjoyable and meaningful activity.
Neighbourhood shopping malls are often preferred for daily needs. Larger urban malls tend to attract younger generations and leisure shoppers. A literature review revealed one quarter of older peoples’ shopping is done online. Electronics was the most popular category
The literature often portrays older people as fragile and facing significant challenges. This is a one-sided view. Interviews with older people reveal a diverse reality as the ageing process is an individual experience.
Shopping mall design must account for practicality, individual preferences, a range of functions, spatial arrangements. Design solutions should also aim to create shopping centres that foster social interaction and physical activity.
Designing with people with disability in mind results in greater convenience for everyone. That’s why we need businesses to think about inclusive retail experiences and strategies.
The Australian Network on Disability, and Design for Dignity produced an excellent resource for retail outlet designers. The key is for designers and retail outlets to understand the level of their missed business by ignoring population diversity. Graphs and statistics are used to highlight the lost opportunities.
Guides for retailers
The guide is aimed at retail business owners, service providers, shopping centre owners and managers, designers, builders and certifiers. There is also a Design for Dignity microsite with the information in a web-based format with more detail.
The business of age-friendly
Many businesses are not sure how to expand their customer base to include older people and people with disability. Utilising a checklist is one way to start thinking about it. Several organisations have produced checklists and other information to help businesses understand what they can do. Much of it costs little or nothing. Here are just three.
COTA TAS has a checklistthat has a rating scale from excellent to needs work. It covers external environments, shop entrances, safety, comfort, and staff training, and much more. It’s nine pages and easy to read.
AgeUK has a more comprehensive document that provides the reasoning behind some of the “Top Tips’. These include telephone interactions, websites, and resolving complaints. The report is based on consumer workshop consultations.
Shopping for groceries is a chore for most people. But for people with reduced cognitive abilities shopping can be a major challenge. Researchers in Sweden carried out a study of 29 people with cognitive challenges to find out their coping strategies. They found very different approaches to coping, but in every case the coping strategy was underpinned by a “personal and strong wish to maintain individuality and independence”.
The researchers found some good points for retailers including: clear paths that connect the entrance and exits with check out counters, clear signage, places to sit and rest (and reduce anxiety) and creating a sense of feeling safe in the environment. The title of the paper is, Shopping with Acquired Brain Injuries, Coping Strategies and Maslowian Principles, by Andersson, Skehan, Ryden and Lagerkrans, from the Swedish Agency for Participation. As with most personal case study research this is an easy read.
The recommendations are also good for people without reduced cognition. For example, reducing “visual noise” and clutter helps everyone to find what they are looking for, and a clear path of travel is good for people using mobility devices. Again, thoughtful design is universal design.
From the abstract
In Sweden the expected life span has increased with approximately 25 years during the 20th century. This study is based on interviews with groups of older persons who experience cognitive problems and relatives. The interviewees were asked about everyday activities like shopping groceries, clothes or other necessities. The interviewees identified problems and described a series of strategies for coping.
The strategies range from complete withdrawal, an increased dependency on proxies to the development of elaborate techniques to mask their problem and obtain assistance. Following the current trend in the design of the Swedish sales environment – large scale, abundance of goods and Maslowian strategies for making people stay longer (and spend more money) – accessibility in the built environment is often an absent friend.
There’s a lot of talk about inclusive workplaces and a diverse workforce, but a policy isn’t enough. The “how-to” is the tricky part. The Australian Human Rights Commission has produced a plain language guide to help employers recruit and include people with disability. The guide is titled IncludeAbility and is 10 pages (in PDF) and therefore sticks to the basics.
People with disability have the right to work on an equal basis with others, and in a work environment that is ‘open, inclusive and accessible to persons with disabilities’.
The guide covers some old ground including the ageing 7 Principles of Universal Design and the Lendlease Design for Dignity Guidelines. And of course existing standards for the built environment. In terms of technology, readers are directed to the WCAG guide. Assistive technology and Employment Fund Assistance also get a mention. Case studies highlight some of the issues many people with disability face when getting work and while at work.
Workplace attitudes are the barriers you can’t see and are therefore the most difficult to overcome. There’s a list of questions employers can ask themselves that mostly relate to organisational policies and staff training. The Human Rights Commission offers staff training in capital cities.
Workplace technology
At an individual level, assistive technology bridges many of the gaps between being able and dis-abled. However, company websites should be accessible for staff as well as customers. Similarly, all key documents should offer accessible formats for staff and customers. theSouth Australian Government toolkitis referenced with more information on this topic.
Editor’s comment: This document appears to be a gathering of existing information that’s been around for a while. It would be interesting to see what a co-designed guide would look like. That is, what do employers want to see in a guide and how do they want it presented.? A guide is a product so it can be universally designed too.
Inclusive communication is key to any purchase for people with and without disability. Whether in written formats, online, or in person, communication is a critical part of the purchasing process. Service based businesses such as tourist attractions, restaurants and banks are difficult to access based on a survey by Business Disability Forum.
“I ended up staying with my current bank because I could not get information in easy read format from any other bank”
Almost half the survey respondents said that booking and/or visiting a restaurant, café or pub posed the most challenges. Booking holiday accommodation was also challenging together with leisure activities. Dealing with banks, insurance providers and utility providers also caused challenges. Buying new technology, software and entertainment media was less problematic for most respondents.
A lot of companies use PDFs, it is not accessible with screen readers… Allow [me to receive] that information in a Word format so I can read it. Avoid columns, rows and text boxes… You would have thought that by now a lot of these companies might have grasped this.
The Business Disability Forum’s research is UK based, but is useful information for all businesses. Community service organisations and governments also need to heed the call for more inclusive communication methods.
Key findings
The online survey showed there was no clear single preference for means of communication at the decision-making stage. The following quotes from the report need no further explanation.
By email or text. The spoken word is hard for me to understand on the telephone, especially when calling from a call centre.
… you need all of it. Live chat, phone, email. It’s got to be accessible in as many ways as possible and quick to reply otherwise you think “I won’t wait for that product” and they have lost your custom.
For me as a totally blind person, email, phone or face-to-face are my preferred methods of communication. Particularly if face-to-face, I want staff to come and ask if I want help, not be left wandering around. If online, I need pages uncluttered with adverts, products clearly separated, buttons or checkboxes al-texted and graphics clearly labelled.
Interestingly, Amazon online purchasing was identified as having a good communication system. This was because:
Contact points for queries before and after sales in customers’ preferred format
Being able to find detailed product information needed
Setting up the process for delivery
Quick purchase mechanisms that avoid repeat form filling
We are seeing more people with disability in films, tv and stories. Both the presence of people with disability and images depicting disability are being integrated into computing. But are the processes for developing inclusive imagery also inclusive?
If the only images available to illustrate accessibility are pictures of wheelchair users, then it becomes difficult to get people to understand and acknowledge the huge range of unique user needs.
A short article by Emory James Edwards addresses some of the issues related to diversity and inclusion in computing. Designers regularly use personas to help them communicate with developers. They each know what the other is talking about. But these ‘design assets’ as they are called, have not included images of people with disability, non-western users, or older adults.
Although people with disability are getting more recognition, the images are still prone to stereotypes. With luck, as we see more images of people with disability we could see increased understanding of the need for accessible technology.
If people who are blind are only depicted as wearing sunglasses or using a guide dog, but never depicted as using a white cane or walking with a sighted guide, it makes invisible the variety of skills and preferences of people who are blind or have low vision
More images of disability is not enough – they could even reinforce stereotypes. It gives people the illusion of knowing what life is like with a disability.
Tips for inclusive image generation
Edwards explains six key points:
Do not reinforce isolated, sad or pitiable stereotypes.
Avoid being overly “sweet” or creating “inspiration porn”.
Show the diversity of the the disability community. That includes gender and nationality.
Consult with people with specific identities.
Make a commitment to long-term engagement with people.
Make inclusion the default position without resorting to tokenism.
The title of the article is, Putting the Disability in DEI Through Inclusive Imagery. Diversity, Equity and Inclusion is about changing the paradigm in computing and other fields. Technology is an essential part of modern life. The reference list at the end is also useful.
A picture can paint the wrong words
For those who understand the issues with the picture shown, there is no need to explain. But there are others who see two good looking young people, one in a wheelchair being pushed by the other. They are wearing bright colours and looking happy as they make their way through an empty shopping mall. For the uninitiated there are three key issues with these companion pictures.
First, perpetuates the stereotype that wheelchair users must be helped by being pushed rather than mobilising independently. A person walking alongside would be better.
Second, it is clear that both of them can walk as they change places with each other to be pushed in the chair.
Third, the type of wheelchair is usually found in a hospital setting. It is not one that a person would normally own let alone use it to go shopping. Wheelchair-user models would come with their own wheelchair.
Wheelchair users are not the only way to convey diversity or disability. The majority of disabilities are invisible, e.g. low vision, hearing loss, heart disease. So pictures of groups of people from all walks of life are much better. Too many of these pictures show a lone wheelchair user in places devoid of other humans. This is not real life.
The Business Disability Forum in the UK has an interesting report on the barriers people with disability face as shoppers and consumers. Whether online, by phone or in person, these barriers are not good for business or consumers. And it’s likely it’s difficult for almost everyone if the process is not universally designed.
The Business Disability Forum asked survey participants about specific barriers to shopping for products and services.
They asked respondents if they have any difficulties with access or engaging in the buying process. The key areas were going to restaurants, cafes and pubs; buying clothes or shoes, and personal and online banking. These were followed by pursuing a hobby, buying insurance and dealing with utility suppliers.
An online survey and focus groups (around 650 people with disabilities and conditions) found almost everyone was impacted in some way.
The next most challenging activities were booking a holiday, booking tickets, buying large electrical appliances, and buying new devices.
Limitation of design – products, service or venues not being inclusive or lacking accessibility features.
Limitations in available information.
The way in which information was presented.
More than half the respondents said their choice of products or services was limited by design, and by the availability of information. It was also limited by the way it was presented.
A significant number (43%) abandoned the shopping task early or just didn’t buy. It was the same for going into shops in person.
The recent pandemic curtailed shopping in the high street and in malls. When the lockdowns were lifted the rush to the shops shows how much people enjoy shopping. Younger people talk of retail therapy, but for older people it is an important social activity, particularly those who live alone. So every part of “design for shopping” needs to be inclusive.
Elnaz Davoudi from the San Francisco State University conducted an in-depth study of older people and their shopping habits. This included shadowing them as they made their way around a supermarket. The whole experience is documented and their are several design conclusions to be drawn from this work.
Shopping carts, check outs, product packaging and much more are open for improved designs. The findings can also be generalised to other design disciplines. It is good to see a holistic approach in this research, not just the design of, say, a shopping trolley, or the product packaging.
Is your new kitchen gadget or appliance intuitive to use? How about the instructions on the device? Every model of microwave, even within the same brand, has a different operating system. This doesn’t help. And some of the icons that are meant to guide the user don’t make sense to everyone in the same way. So what can industrial designers do about creating inclusive instructions for domestic appliances? A human-centred design approach provides some answers.
Shopping for groceries is a chore for most people. But for people with reduced cognitive abilities shopping can be a major challenge. Researchers in Sweden carried out a study of 29 people with cognitive challenges to find out their coping strategies. They found very different approaches to coping, but in every case the coping strategy was underpinned by a “personal and strong wish to maintain individuality and independence”. 
