Question
Hello,

I hope you can help me. I am teaching a junior class in Industrial Design. We are studying ways to design for Universal Users. I would love some real life ideas for simple products that would make life easier for people living with disabilities.

Can you give me some specific ideas + also tell me what disability it refers to?

Thank you very much for your time + expertise.


Answer
You are asking the question wrong- Universal Design is about making things that EVERYONE can use, not just making things easier for certain people.

Examples:

Good Grips-
The "Good Grips" line of kitchen tools- the stuff with the big black rubbery grips was designed by an employee for the company who was trying to make stuff for his grandmother with her poor grip/arthritis.

When he designed the bigger handle and in some cases re-engineered the functions, he quickly found that his co-workers liked the easy to use stuff, even though they were not impaired in any way.

Good Grips has gone on to inspire whole new lines of designs from several companies.


Lever door knobs-
Did you ever notice that the round doorknob on your house does not really work? Hard to work when it is slippery, hard to work with a bundle in each hand, hard ot grip with gloves or grip problems.

In most of the world, the common door control is a simple lever. Levers are easy to work with an elbow and can be worked when they are slick or you are wearing gloves, or have grip problems.


The Operator's Solution-
A person with a disability was applying for a position as a phone operator, but was having problems working the small buttons. The aide working with her gave her a short dowel with a big slip-on eraser on the tip to use for now until a better solution could be found.

Later in the week, not only was the client using the dowel easily, but many of the other operators had adopted the same idea to help make their jobs easier as well.


Other things that help people with disabilities but also help people in general include:
-Reachers- (I have one in my house to reach stuff off of higher shelves without having to dig out a stool).

- Rocker/Ulu knives- This is a sharp knife with a sort of T-handle, or a 'D' shaped knife with the handle on the straight part of the D. These things are wonderful to use, especially for chopping jobs!

- Non-skid mats- Used for years to help stabilize everything from plates to wheelchair seat cushions, this stuff is now used to hold cell phones on dashboards, as router padding, as jar openers, as garlic peelers, and even as shelf liner.



If you want some design challenges, try these:

Alarm clock radio- Must be easy to see/read WITHOUT being too bright. Buttons for snooze or alarm shut off have to be easy to hit while drowsy BUT not confused for each other , or have other buttons that can be hit my mistake. Example of BAD design- the common Bose clock radio- several small rows of buttons with very dim lettering- just try to figure one out in the middle of the night!

Shampoo/conditioner problem. People with poor vision (or people who cannot wear their glasses in the shower) often cannot tell the two apart (heck- it can be difficult to tell them apart in the store!) Then, it can be difficult to work many of the flip lids they come with if you have stiff fingers. Some people with disabilities use ketchup and mustard dispensers- the flip caps are easier to use and the bright colors are hard to confuse... but dang, it is an ugly solution!

My FAVORITE books on this general subject are "How Things Don't Work" (Voctor Papenick, I think), and "The Psychology of Everyday Things"- my design bible.

This may not have helped like you wante. If you want more, please e-mail me at [email protected].

Good luck- should be a great class!