Importance of Universal Design (http://www.universaldesign.org)

Our culture and our world as we know it are changing. Now, more than ever, in this faster paced, more complex world we are constantly assaulted with demands. In spite of technology even the most savvy individuals are often left grasping for ways to improve their quality of life.

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

1. Importance of UD
2. How UD relates to quality living
3. Principles of UD

Example of universally designed kitchen. Credit: General Electric

The world population is living longer as medical advances contribute to declining death rates. The growth of the 50+ age group has escalated and more wealth is being passed from generation to generation helping to promote better products and services for the "good life."

Serendipitously, as much as things change, much remains the same. Values, beliefs and traditions are enriched over time. The dignity of the human spirit resonates loud and clear, generation to generation. The quality of a person's life and the lives of those they care about will always hold the highest significance for them.

Change is the essence of life and can have a tremendous impact on one's sense of well being. Our personal worlds deliver the things needed to keep our batteries charged and we are often able to affect the degree of change there. We can take control of our environment and enhance our lives as well as the lives of those that mean the most to us by becoming aware of some basic design principles.

Genetics, environment and lifestyle affect our longevity and our quality of life. We are limited in not being able to change our genetics, but we can enhance what our DNA has predestined for us through a healthier lifestyle and a more accommodating environment. As a result, we can live longer, more enriched, lives.

Wisdom comes through implementing knowledge to benefit outcome. Our changing cultural phenomena are requiring the world to use all of their acquired knowledge to reassess how we live, how we support our evolving life patterns and how we put into action what it takes to "make it happen."

The housing stock in the United States is built to accommodate the average twenty-five year old, six-foot tall male. If this profile does not match your individual vital statistics you can correctly conclude that the bulk of this housing was not built to best accommodate you. In fact, this model group is but a minute segment of the entire population.

The average American home is over thirty years old and often its design presents challenges for even the most able-bodied individuals. Even though we are the most technologically advanced people in the world, we find that we are adapting to our ill-fitted environments rather than making our environments work for us. Our own intelligence and our almost endless ability to adapt have taken us for a long roller coaster ride.

===========

How Universal Design = Quality Living for a Lifetime

Universal Design (UD) is a user-friendly approach to design in the living environment where people of any culture, age, size, weight, race, gender and ability can experience an environment that promotes their health, safety and welfare today and in the future.

1. Importance of UD
2. How UD relates to quality living
3. Principles of UD

Demographic Trends of the Aging Population

Consider the following:

* Women are living longer than men.
* The greatest wealth is owned by those in the 50+ age group.
* One in four adults are 50 years or older and those in the 85 and older age group are the fastest-growing segment of the population.
* Most people want to age in their homes, rather than in an institution.
* The typical homeowner desires convenient, timesaving and efficient features in their homes that allow greater ease, comfort and security in their hectic lives.
* The average person can expect to experience a disability at some point in their lives.
* Chronic conditions such as obesity, diabetes, arthritis and over/under use of medications show no age boundaries, affecting both young and old.
* Multigenerational family living is on the rise, and adult children are living at home longer.
* The number of households headed by single female wage earners continues to grow.

Facts like these about our population and their implications given our current housing stock are causing a re-evaluation of our home environment. Universal Design considers lifestyle changes and incorporates principles, features and concepts that allow individuals of all ages and abilities the opportunity to occupy a home that better supports their individual and ever-changing needs. This new standard in housing is gaining recognition that is building momentum daily.
Example of universally designed windows and studio. Credit: Andersen Corporation

Winston Churchill said, "First we shape our houses, then they shape us." If our houses are not built to promote ease, convenience, safety and our general welfare, shouldn't they be? We can put a man on the moon, clone a sheep and send a message around the world instantly, yet we have been negligent in accomplishing the very basics of "to thine own self be true." The flexibility, ease, comfort and security of a universally designed environment seamlessly exhibits beauty and logic -- it's wonder why the obvious has evaded our world for so long. Think about the following:
How Might Universal Design Apply to these Scenarios?

* Tennis elbow and are not able to function as well as you normally would?
* Limited mobility from recovery time after surgery?
* Not being able to bring a large piece of furniture into or through the house?
* Not knowing who was at the door until it was opened?
* Steps or doorways that keep someone you love from visiting you?
* Bathing difficulty because of a cast on your leg or having to use crutches?
* Multi-tasking with a baby stroller and groceries in hand?
* Burning yourself carrying hot food to the table?
* Having to sit during the all-day preparation of your Thanksgiving feast?
* Inability to reach far enough or deep enough to obtain the item that you need?
* If something is "out of sight" it is "out of mind?"?
* Making things in your home safer, more convenient and/or more comfortable so family members, both young and senior, can help with the daily chores?
* Even if you deny it, age will catch up with you and, because of your environment you have to leave your home before you are ready?

As a society we strive to embrace each other's needs and to support a system of bettering our conditions by using each person's individual talents and vocations. Universal Design, implemented today, will benefit and endure beyond our lifetime to those we care about in generations to come. Universal Design is a living legacy evoked by the desire for positive change.

We can make this a way of life for everyone. We can enhance life in the future by how be embrace life today. There is no reason to wait. When it comes to our most important and most valuable investment, our home, there should be no short-changing. Universal Design, when properly planned and implemented, will bring more substance and value to one's life over any other lifestyle change.

Living life to the fullest is the sweetest gift of all. It is a gift you will want to share with others.
Seven Principles of Universal Design

For guidance on developing and integrating universally designed features, review these principles.

1. UD Principle: Equitable Use
2. UD Principle: Flexibility in Use
3. UD Principle: Simple & Intuitive Use
4. UD Principle: Perceptible Information
5. UD Principle: Tolerance for Error
6. UD Principle: Low Physical Effort
7. UD Principle: Size & Space for Approach and Use

===============

Principles of Universal Design

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

For more information on universal design, check out:

1. Importance of UD
2. How UD relates to quality living
3. Principles of UD

The Principles of Universal Design were collaboratively authored by a working group of architects, product designers, engineers and environmental design researchers as a guide for a wide range of design disciplines including environments, products and communications. These principles may be applied to evaluate existing designs, guide the design process and educate both designers and consumers about the characteristics of more usable products and environments.

Keep in mind that all guidelines may not be relevant to all designs.
The Principles of Universal Design offer guidance on developing and integrating features to meet the needs of as many users as possible. These principles address only universally usable design, while the practice of design involves more than consideration for usability. Designers must also incorporate other considerations such as economic, engineering, cultural, gender, and environmental concerns in their design processes.
.

The seven (7) Principles of Universal Design are presented in the following three-part format:

* Name and number of the principle, intended to be a concise and easily remembered statement of the key concept embodied in the principle;
* Definition of the principle, a brief description of the principle's primary directive for design;
* Guidelines, a list of the key elements that should be present in a design which adheres to the principle.

Principle 1: Equitable Use

The design is useful and marketable to people with diverse abilities.
Guidelines for Principle 1:

1. Provide the same means of use for all users: identical whenever possible; equivalent when not.
2. Avoid segregating or stigmatizing any users.
3. Make provisions for privacy, security, and safety equally available to all users.
4. Make the design appealing to all users.

Principle 2: Flexibility in Use

The design accommodates a wide range of individual preferences and abilities.
Guidelines for Principle 2:

1. Provide choice in methods of use.
2. Accommodate right- or left-handed access and use.
3. Facilitate the user's accuracy and precision.
4. Provide adaptability to the user's pace.

Principle 3: Simple & Intuitive Use

Use of the design is easy to understand, regardless of the user's experience, knowledge, language skills, or current concentration level.
Guidelines for Principle 3:

1. Eliminate unnecessary complexity.
2. Be consistent with user expectations and intuition.
3. Accommodate a wide range of literacy and language skills.
4. Arrange information consistent with its importance.
5. 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.
Guidelines for Principle 4:

1. Use different modes (pictorial, verbal, tactile) for redundant presentation of essential information.
2. Maximize "legibility" of essential information.
3. Differentiate elements in ways that can be described (i.e., make it easy to give instructions or directions).
4. Provide compatibility with a variety of techniques or devices used by people with sensory limitations.

Principle 5: Tolerance for Error

The design minimizes hazards and the adverse consequences of accidental or unintended actions.
Guidelines for Principle 5:

1. Arrange elements to minimize hazards and errors: most used elements, most accessible; hazardous elements eliminated, isolated, or shielded.
2. Provide warnings of hazards and errors.
3. Provide fail safe features.
4. 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.
Guidelines for Principle 6:

1. Allow user to maintain a neutral body position.
2. Use reasonable operating forces.
3. Minimize repetitive actions.
4. Minimize sustained physical effort.

Principle 7: Size & 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.
Guidelines for Principle 7:

1. Provide a clear line of sight to important elements for any seated or standing user.
2. Make reach to all components comfortable for any seated or standing user.
3. Accommodate variations in hand and grip size.
4. Provide adequate space for the use of assistive devices or personal assistance.

Credits:

Universal Design Principles, Version 2.0 - 4/1/97
© 1997: Center for Universal Design, North Carolina State University
Funded by the National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research

Compiled by advocates of universal design, listed in alphabetical order:
Bettye Rose Connell, Mike Jones, Ron Mace, Jim Mueller, Abir Mullick, Elaine Ostroff, Jon Sanford, Ed Steinfeld, Molly Story & Gregg Vanderheiden.

For more information please visit these links:
http://www.universaldesign.org/
http://www.makoa.org/accessable-design.htm
http://www.aarp.org/families/home_design/
http://www.aarp.org/families/home_design/universaldesign/a2004-03-23-whatis_univdesign.html