Are Inclusive Designers Designing Inclusively? An Analysis of 66 Design Cases

ABSTRACT

Inclusive Design's extensive literature may be divided into theory concerning methodology and case studies describing practice. The question arises as to how closely practice matches theory. This paper (based on an analysis of academic papers, posters and oral presentations) is a survey of the methods used in self-declared inclusive design projects. The raw material was classed as (a) product design or (b) assistive technology. Design steps were assigned to six categories of activity as defined by an authoritative design method. Analysis showed that of the 66 cases, 4.5 per cent reported carrying out all six steps, while 39.3 per cent carried out or reported just one step. The study found that the predominant focus of activity was in the initial steps of user investigation; subsequent steps receive less emphasis due to either under-reporting or non-completion. The work shows that design practitioners need to resist the tendency for user input to taper off as projects proceed.

KEYWORDS:

• design methods
• assistive technology
• inclusive design

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Richard Herriott

Biography

Richard Herriott is a PhD researcher at the Aarhus School of Architecture. He holds a BA in Earth Science from Trinity College, Dublin (1992) and an MA in Automotive Design from Coventry University (1999).