Category: Industrial design practice

Open Sesame! Packaging made easy

Exploded view of the package and all its partsIn marketing terms, the packaging is part of the product. The package shape, colour and brand are important in enticing consumers to buy. But all too often we have to get a sharp knife, a pair of scissors and wrestle with the packaging in order to get to the product inside. Microsoft has come up with a nice solution to packaging their Xbox Adaptive Controller – a gamepad for people who might not have use of their limbs. Good thinking – no good having a nicely designed accessible product that you can’t get out of the box! The video below shows the simple but effective design. There is another video on the FastCompany website or see the engadget website. Package designers take note. 

The title of the article is How Microsoft fixed the worst thing about product packaging.

 

What does inclusion actually mean?

Graphic of stick people in various poses with the caption, "Inclusiveness,, looking at everyone. What does inclusion mean?Kat Holmes found the origin of include was to “shut in”. Similarly, the origin of exclude was to “shut out”. Maybe “inclusion” is not the right word for describing the inclusion of everyone in products, places and things. So what does inclusion actually mean?

Holmes explains in the video below, that the topic of diversity is discussed as gender, sexual orientation, religious belief, ethnicity, and race. Disability is usually mentioned last in the list, if at all. “But it is the one category that transcends all other categories”, she says. “Abilities are constantly changing”. 

Holmes’ offers an alternative way for designers to consider diversity, and is based on her book, Mismatch: How Inclusion Shapes Design. An engaging talk for all upcoming designers in any field. And not just professional designers either. We all design things every day, so we all have a role to play. 

Editor’s Note: I discussed this issue in a 2009 paper. Inclusion requires those who are already included to invite into the group those who are excluded. Semantics are important. What we need is inclusiveness – that’s where inclusion has already happened and there are no exclusions. Inclusion is a futuristic concept – it’s something we are striving for. It it were achieved, no further discussion would be needed.

Designing around people

Book cover - dark blue background with white writing for the title, Designing Around People.Designing Around People is the publication of sessions held across three days held at University of Cambridge (UK). Known as CWUAAT (Cambridge Workshops on Universal Access and Assistive Technology), it is an international gathering of people interested in inclusive design across different fields. Designers, engineers, computer engineers, ergonomists, ethnographers, policymakers and user communities, meet, discuss and collaborate. People come from diverse communities to this biennial workshop; France, India, China, Norway, Slovakia, USA, Denmark and many more. A good reference for anyone researching inclusive practice.

As the range of topics is diverse, individual chapters are available for purchase if you don’t have institutional access from SpringerLink.  You can download the PDF of the Preface and the chapter list from the link. 

Where would you like to sit?

brightly coloured simple folding chairs in an outdoor cafe setting.Tanisha Cowell gives her perspective on seat design as an occupational therapist and interior designer. She says her five features for great seats is not rocket science and seems common sense, but as always, it’s the little details that make a difference. Of course backrests and armrests get a mention, but also where to place seating, say in a park or a cafe. Did you think about colour contrast and height of the seat, or even the thickness of a seat? Tanisha has something to say about these too. And what about a cushion for the leisurely Sunday breakfast at your favourite cafe?  

Shaped by Space

Looking down into a large open plan office with desks and partitionsWinston Churchill famously said, “‘we shape our buildings and afterwards our buildings shape us.” Many would agree. But what about space – does that shape us too? In his article about office workspaces, Scott Simpson says the design of the spaces in which we live, work and play has a profound effect on how people interact. “Sometimes the effect is quite subtle, and sometimes it is more obvious, but in all cases, space shapes the context for what we do and how we do it, even though its effect is frequently taken for granted.” He goes on to say that the way space is configured creates the context, sets the tone and gives off subtle yet powerful messages for how people are expected to behave. The article is on the Design Intelligence website.  

Beauty: The 8th principle of universal design?

Liz Jackson on stage wearing black and using a purple cane. Beauty - the 8th principle of universal design.Designer Liz Jackson from New York, tells her story in a video talk of how she became known as the woman with the purple cane. Her theory is that when parents tell their children not to stare at someone who looks different they take this behaviour into adulthood.

In a straightforward manner she laments how designs for people with disability are so often ugly. She critiques the seven principles of universal design for not including beauty in the list; focusing only on functionality. And that every design designs for exception because there will always be someone left out. This 15 minute talk is well worth the time. If you can’t access the video there is a full transcript on the site.  

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 thingsEditor’s note: Aesthetics are mentioned in the fuller length of the seven principles of universal design. This quote from Bill Stumpt and Don Chadwick, points this out: “The essence of universal design lies in its ability to create beauty and mediate extremes without destroying differences in places, experiences, and things”. However, it seems that if designers only ever look at the short list of principles, an eighth principle should be added – Thou shalt make it beautiful!

 

Universal design for apparel products

Picture of a rack of dresses in all kinds of fabric designs. Universal design for apparel products.How can clothing design be inclusive and allow individual expression at the same time? Design for many, design for me: Universal design for apparel products reports on a study examining just that question.

The article begins with an explanation and application of universal design principles followed by two case studies. Slow Design and Thoughtful Consumption enter the discussion as well as the concept of co-design. It is good to see clothing design joining the universal design movement.

From the abstract

The purpose of the study was to explore the use of universal design principles as guidance for developing innovative design solutions that accommodate ‘inclusivity’ while maintaining ‘individuality’ regarding the wearer’s aesthetic tastes and functional needs.

Two case studies of design practice were conducted, and the principles of universal design were evaluated through practical applications. This study suggests that universal design provides an effective framework for the apparel design process to achieve flexible and versatile outcomes. However, due to product proximity to the wearer, modification of the original definition and principles of universal design must be considered in applications for apparel design.

 

Kitchens for all time

Picture shows a long island bench with white drawer cupboards and a timber benchtop. It has a low section attached to the front of the bench with a knee hole with two child sized bar stools. The knee space could just as easily suit a wheelchair userA well designed kitchen is essential for all members of the household. Participating in food preparation is important part of everyday life in many cultures. So anyone who wants to join in with meal preparation should be able to do so.

While the Consumer Report website article was published in 2015, many of the ideas are still current. Storage, work spaces, sinks and taps, lights and power outlets, flooring, doorways and handles, appliances, cookware and utensils are all covered.

With a growing trend to update kitchens every 12-20 years, renovation time is the best time to think about the usability of the kitchen into the future. 

Kitchens for later life

3 pictures of kitchens used in the study. One shows a china cabinet, the next a step ladder and the third an ironing board More than any room in the house, the kitchen needs to be a place where tasks can be done easily and efficiently. Kitchens are also an important area for social interactions during meal preparation and clean up. As people age, more thought needs to go into kitchen design to overcome issues such as reaching, bending, grasping and holding. However, this should not mean a complete kitchen renovation if these issues are considered in the original kitchen design.

Kitchen Living in Later Life: Exploring Ergonomic Problems, Coping Strategies and Design Solutions is the result of research from different disciplines in the UK. As an academic paper there are some technical references, but the reports of the interviews with older people are quite revealing.  Reaching and bending caused the most problems, as well as grasping and lifting. Lighting was also an issue, especially for reading the small print on packaging. The article proposes solutions, some of them related to rearranging things for ease of use.

Ironing proved to be the most difficult task. An interesting study, particularly as we can all relate to both good and bad kitchen design and fitout. This is especially the case with, say, a broken wrist, or slipped disc, which can happen to anyone at any time.

A related topic is the work at the University of Cambridge Inclusive Design team and their online Inclusive Design Toolkit. 

Small bathrooms and universal design

picture of a free standing bathtub with a shower behind in teh cornerHome design magazines now feature larger bathrooms with larger fittings, such as freestanding bathtubs. The room has gone from being a purely functional space to one of relaxation and wellbeing. Consequently, the design of small bathrooms is somewhat ignored.

Designing for Small Bathrooms by Sivertsen and Berg, of Oslo and Akershus University of Applied Sciences, Norway, seeks to address this. Their research question was how to achieve the same sense of wellbeing in small bathrooms using universal design principles. It’s an open access article.

Note that the image does not indicate universal design features. A free-standing bath becomes unusable if grab bar support is needed in the future. The shower cubicle is small and not step free. 

Abstract

This paper will focus on how to design a series of bathroom products that work well for small bathrooms using the principles of universal design. In home culture research, Quitzau and Rřpke has studied bathroom transformation from hygiene to well-being.

Bathrooms are one of the rooms in apartments that do not have good solutions for small spaces. This is unfortunate since it is the bathroom that has the least amount of space in urban apartments. This leads many people to have too little bathroom space due to furniture, toilets, showers, etc.

In today’s society, the bathroom is no longer just a purpose room. It is used for relaxation and wellness. This has led to a trend where large furniture, such as freestanding bathtubs, dominate today’s market. This in turn allows the few solutions that exist for small bathrooms to remain poorly conceived.

The research question was therefore how to create solutions for small bathrooms to get the same sense of well-being as in larger bathrooms through universal design principals. The study used the principles of universal design, observations and in-depth interviews.

This study can help to create a greater understanding of how to design small bathrooms. It will be relevant in a cross disciplinary field, including for professionals in plumbing, product design and technical solutions. This will also increase the well-being of users of the bathroom.

Social role of design

Front cover of the Elisava journal“The aim is not to come up with ground-breaking ideas, but ideas that work, that are useful to others and can be implemented”. At the heart of this statement is human-centred industrial design. Examples of success stories by Morer, Rodriguez-Ferradas and Cazon are not about universal design per se, but are examples of including people in designs who are often left out.

The examples include a wheelchair for table tennis players, and an infant warmer as an alternative to an incubator where there is no electricity. The article concludes by claiming that young designers are living in an increasingly complex world and becoming more socially aware. Therefore they can reflect this in their designs. Perhaps the challenge is for established teachers and lecturers in the discipline?

The title of the article is, The social role of design: Industrial Design is a holistic approach for problem solving. The article is published in English in a Spanish design publication, Elisava Temes de Disseny.

Showing three views of a wheelchair for table tennis players