Universal Design

What is UNIVERSAL DESIGN ?

 Universal Design is the design and composition of an environment so that it can

be accessed, understood and used to the greatest extent possible by all people
regardless of their age, size, ability or disability. An environment (or any building,
product, or service in that environment) should be designed to meet the needs of
all people who wish to use it. This is not a special requirement, for the benefit of
only a minority of the population. It is a fundamental condition of good design. If
an environment is accessible, usable, convenient and a pleasure to use, everyone
benefits. By considering the diverse needs and abilities of all throughout the
design process, universal design creates products, services and environments that
meet peoples' needs. Simply put, universal design is good design.
 The Seven Principles of Universal
Design
 These 7 Principles are developed by a team of architects, product designers,
engineers and environmental design researchers, led by the late Ronald Mace.
 These principles were developed to guide the design of environments, products
and communications. So that they can be used by everyone for building Universal
Designs.
1. Equitable Use

 Products should be equally helpful and usable

to people of diverse abilities. It should provide
similar kind of experience to everyone if not
identical. As I told you before, nobody likes to
be treated differently in terms of ability.
2. Flexibility in Use

 The products should accommodate a wide range

of preferences and abilities. The designs should
provide a choice in how they can be used. The
user has full control of the pace of use and the
accuracy of the use.
3. Simple and Intuitive Use

 The products should be easy to understand to

the users regardless of experience, knowledge,
language skills, or current concentration level.
The use of the product should be self-
explanatory.
 The Designs should be so simple and intuitive
that people should not need to think for what
should I do next.
4. Perceptible Information

 The product design communicates necessary

information effectively to the user, regardless of
ambient conditions or the user’s sensory
abilities.
 The information is communicated to the users
in multiple cues(pictorial, verbal and tactile)
which is easy to understand and reduces the
chances of inability to understand.
5. Tolerance for Error

 A Universal Design minimizes hazards and the

adverse consequences of accidental or
unintended actions. The products should have a
certain level of error tolerance, this is done to
reduce the harms and adverse consequences
caused due to unintended actions.
6. Low Physical Effort

 The products should be used effectively and

comfortably with a minimum of fatigue. The
minimal the physical effort is needed to get
something done the better it is.
7. Size and Space for Approach
and Use
 Appropriate size and space is provided for
approach, reach, manipulation, and use
regardless of user’s body size, posture, or
mobility. The additional spaces are provided
around things for comfortable use.
Multi-Sensory Systems

 More than one sensory channel in interaction

– e.g. sounds, text, hypertext, animation, video, gestures, vision.

 Used in a range of applications:

– particularly good for users with special needs, and virtual reality.

 Will cover
– general terminology – speech – non-speech sounds – handwriting.
 considering applications as well as principles
Multi-modal vs. Multi-media

 Multi-modal systems – use more than one sense (or mode ) of interaction.
e.g. visual and aural senses: a text processor may speak the words as well as echoing them to the
screen

 Multi-media systems – use a number of different media to communicate

information.
e.g. a computer-based teaching system: may use video, animation, text and still images: different
media all using the visual mode of interaction; may also use sounds, both speech and non-speech:
two more media, now using a different mode
Usable Senses

 The 5 senses (sight, sound, touch, taste and smell) are used by us every day
– each is important on its own.
– together, they provide a fuller interaction with the natural world.

 Computers rarely offer such a rich interaction

 Can we use all the available senses?

– ideally, yes
– practically – no
 We can use • sight • sound • touch (sometimes)
 We cannot (yet) use • taste • smell
Designing for Diversity
 The designer consider three key areas:
1. Designing for users with disabilities
- visual impairment
- hearing impairment
- physical impairment
- speech impairment
- dyslexia
- autism
2. Designing for different age groups
- Old people
- Children
3. Designing for cultural difference
Designing for users with
disabilities
 Visual impairment
– screen readers, Sonic Finder.
 Hearing impairment
– text communication, gesture, captions.
 Physical impairment
– speech I/O, eye gaze, gesture, predictive systems (e.g. Reactive keyboard).
 Speech impairment
– speech synthesis, text communication • dyslexia – speech input, output.
 Autism
– communication, education.
Designing for different age
groups
 Older people:
Email and instant messaging, can provide social interaction in cases where lack of
mobility or speech difficulties and reduce face-to-face possibilities.
 Children
Information in Graphics, sound and text, Pen-based interfaces, touch or handwriting, may
be easier for children than key board and mouse.
Designing for cultural difference

 The other factors such as age, gender, race, sexuality, class, religion and
political persuasion, may all influence an individual’s response to a system.
 The designer practice universal design which include language, cultural
symbols, gestures and use of color
THANKYOU
