Universal Design Universal design is the design of products and environments to be usable by all people, to the greatest extent possible, without the need for adaptation or specialized design.

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Universal Design Principles--- Equitable Use Flexibility of Use Simple and Intuitive Perceptible Information Tolerance for Error Low Physical Effort Size and Space for Use

What is Universal Design Universal design makes things more accessible, safer, and convenient for everyone. Also called “Design for All” or “Inclusive Design,” it is a philosophy that can be applied to policy, design and other practices to make products, environments and systems function better for a wider range of people.

Origin It developed in response to the diversity of human populations, their abilities and their needs.

Examples of universal design include utensils with larger handles, curb ramps, automated doors, kneeling buses with telescoping ramps, houses with no-step entries, closed captioning in televisions, and the accessibility features incorporated into computer operating systems and software.

Definition and overview The Disability Act 2005 defines Universal Design, or UD, as: the design and composition of an environment so that it may be accessed, understood and used –to the greatest possible extent, –in the most independent and natural manner possible, –in the widest possible range of situations, and

And –without the need for adaptation, modification, assistive devices or specialised solutions, by any persons of any age or size or having any particular physical, sensory, mental health or intellectual ability or disability,

History of UD Social History The 20th Century brought about major social changes with respect to civil and human rights. Medical advances during this period meant that the likelihood of surviving an injury or illness was far greater. People were living longer and the average life expectancy of people with severe impairments was increasing. Driven in part by factors such as the large number of Second World War soldiers returning home with disabling injuries, the rights and needs of older people and people with disabilities were brought to the forefront. Governments responded with the introduction of equal rights and anti-discrimination legislation.

The Evolving Design Industry (Disability- specific design ) As new laws served to promote social inclusion and prevent discrimination, pressure was placed on the design industry to meet the demands of creating accessible and usable products, services and environments. As the social movements of the 20th Century were gathering momentum, the design industry responded with targeted efforts. Concepts such as barrier-free design, which aspired to remove barriers for disabled people from the built environment, appeared

Accessible Design The more generalised concept of accessible design emerged in the 1970s and promoted the incorporation of accessible solutions into the general design of products, services and environments.

Assistive Technology At the same time that the mainstream design industry was evolving, the parallel field of assistive technology strove to provide more specialised solutions for people with specific requirements. Add-on products, that could make a formerly inaccessible product accessible, were more commonly developed and became more readily available.

User-centred design and Human factors Of major influence to the development of Universal Design were design approaches that considered the needs of users from the very beginning of the design process.

Multidiscipline field Fields such as Human Factors, Ergonomics and other functional design approaches look at the physical anatomy and the behaviour of the person and use this information to create designs that fit. These design approaches have been of particular interest for health and safety reasons, for example the layout of controls for the operation of potentially dangerous machinery.

More Recently More recently the term user-centred design is used to describe design that identifies and addresses the needs, abilities and limitations of the user.

Design for All 3 levels Mainstream products designed according to good Human factors practice, incorporating considerations for people with disabilities, that can be used by a broad range of users Products that are adaptable to permit the connection of special devices Specially designed or tailored products for more people with significant access issues

Benefits for Business, Individual & Society People with disabilities benefit because they have greater access to mainstream products and services that meet their needs. More affordable products Society benefits by reduced costs on very expensive AT products Achieving a higher degree of social equality

Human Centred Design The active involvement of users and clear understanding of user and task requirements An appropriate allocation of functions between users and technology The iteration of design solutions Interdisciplinary design

ISO Standard (1999) Are easier to use and understand, thus reducing training and support costs Improve user satisfaction and reduce discomfort and stress Improve the productivity of users and the operational efficiency of organisations Improved product quality appeals to the users and can provide a competitive advantage

User Interface Strive for Consistency Enable frequent users to use short cuts Offer informative feedback Design dialogues to yield closure Offer simple error handling Permit easy reversal of actions Support internal locus of support Reduce short term memory load (Shneiderman B 1993 Designing the user interface: strive for effective human- computer interaction. Addison Wesley)

Merging design fields Combining and drawing from developments in all of the above fields, the concept of Universal Design was introduced.

Two Level Approach Universal Design should incorporate a two level approach: User-aware design: pushing the boundaries of 'mainstream' products, services and environments to include as many people as possible. Customisable design: design to minimise the difficulties of adaptation to particular users.

Benefits and Outcomes One immediate result of applying a more accessible, usable, and user-friendly design was a reduction in the time it takes for pages to load, with the pages on the new site taking one quarter of the time. Following the launch of the new website, Legal & General saw an increase of 13,000 visitors to their site each month. Online sales of insurance products increased by 90%. They saved £200,000 each year on website maintenance. And the entire project delivered 100% return-on-investment within just 12 months.

Principle 1: Equitable Use The design of a device should be useful and marketable to people with diverse abilities. –Provide the same means of use for all users: identical whenever possible; equivalent when not. –Avoid segregating or stigmatizing any users. –Provisions for privacy, security, and safety should be equally available to all users. –Make the design appealing to all users

Principle 2: Flexibility of Use The design accommodates a wide range of individual preferences and abilities. -Provide choice in methods of use.  Accommodate right- or left-handed access and use.  Facilitate the user's accuracy and precision.  Provide adaptability to the user's pace.

Principle 3: Simple and Intuitive Use of the design is easy to understand, regardless of the user's experience, knowledge, language skills, or current concentration level. -Eliminate unnecessary complexity.  Be consistent with user expectations and intuition.  Accommodate a wide range of literacy and language skills.  Arrange information consistent with its importance.  Provide effective prompting and feedback during and after task completion.

Principle 4: Perceptible Information The design communicates necessary information effectively to the user, regardless of ambient conditions or the user's sensory abilities.  Use different modes (pictorial, verbal, tactile) for redundant presentation of essential information.  Provide adequate contrast between essential information and its surroundings.  Maximize "legibility" of essential information.  Differentiate elements in ways that can be described (i.e., make it easy to give instructions or directions).  Provide compatibility with a variety of techniques or devices used by people with sensory limitations.

Principle 5: Tolerance and Error The design minimizes hazards and the adverse consequences of accidental or unintended actions. -Arrange elements to minimize hazards and errors: most used elements, most accessible; hazardous elements eliminated, isolated, or shielded.  Provide warnings of hazards and errors.  Provide fail safe features.  Discourage unconscious action in tasks that require vigilance.

Principle 6: Low Physical Effort The design can be used efficiently and comfortably and with a minimum of fatigue. -Allow user to maintain a neutral body position.  Use reasonable operating forces.  Minimize repetitive actions.  Minimize sustained physical effort

Principle 7: Size and Space for Use Appropriate size and space is provided for approach, reach, manipulation, and use regardless of user's body size, posture, or mobility.  Provide a clear line of sight to important elements for any seated or standing user.  Make reach to all components comfortable for any seated or standing user.  Accommodate variations in hand and grip size.  Provide adequate space for the use of assistive devices or personal assistance.

A Case Study : The Legal & General website Legal & General, a UK supplier of financial services, were aware that their website was not designed to be as accessible and usable as it could be and in 2005 they undertook to improve the entire user-experience of their website.

User Centred Approach Taking a user-centred approach, the site design involved identifying the needs of customers and existing challenges they faced when using the old site. They evaluated how customers use the site, using web analytics and relevant software.

Finally, They carried out more general research on the needs of their customers, taking into consideration, for example that 3.2 million people in Britain have difficulty using inaccessible websites; 6 million have dyslexia; 1 person in 3 is over the age of 50; 3 million people speak English as a second language; 1.5 million lack basic language skills; and 5.2 million adults have sub-GCSE level English.

General Benefits Better User experience Greater Number of Users Greater Participation Bigger Market Better Products Longer Partcipation Less exclusion

Benefits and Outcomes One immediate result of applying a more accessible, usable, and user-friendly design was a reduction in the time it takes for pages to load, with the pages on the new site taking one quarter of the time. Following the launch of the new website, Legal & General saw an increase of 13,000 visitors to their site each month. Online sales of insurance products increased by 90%. They saved £200,000 each year on website maintenance. And the entire project delivered 100% return-on-investment within just 12 months.

Benefits for Business, Individual & Society Increased potential market Increased marketability- by increasing functionality for all users Total Cost Reduction Improved market share by improving customer loyalty Reduction in hidden costs Improved access to the US market Potential spin offs General population will benefit from more user friendly products and services +flexibility of new products

Benefits for Business, Individual & Society People with disabilities benefit because they have greater access to mainstream products and services that meet their needs. More affordable products Society benefits by reduced costs on very expensive AT products Achieving a higher degree of social equality