Disability Friendly

4Inclusive Design: Enabling Work by All

As I've stated in other chapters, it may come naturally to use terms like inclusion and access interchangeably. While they stem from similar logic, they are not interchangeable. Inclusive design incorporates accessibility practices for use by everybody, recognizing that every subgroup matters. Access design caters specifically to people with disabilities. This design practice applies to architecture, digital/technological interfaces, and consumer goods alike.

Though the 1990 Americans with Disabilities Act insists that locations and services be designed accessibly, in many instances, you will see access design in the form of a retroactive correction. Something was built for “standard use” (nondisabled/average user), and the designer adds an update to incorporate accessibility features or physical alternatives when patrons voice concern. Access design is often used in these scenarios to adjust for the missing elements—a curb cut, a ramp, closed captioning, audio description, a screen reader, alt text, etc. Of course, any of these elements should have been included in the initial design process. Still, more often than not, they are forgotten until someone needs them or considered when people with disabilities are expected to be a common user—hence the design theories used are specified for a disabled user and are more individualized.

Universal design, as I discussed in chapter 1, tackles inclusion through an umbrella tactic, encompassing ...