It is surprising to know that Cooper Hewitt is the only design museum when design is needed for everything. Their focus on a topic ignored by the majority makes it even more captivating. This panel would be extremely informative for anyone who is a creator or a designer or wanting to be one. It was so saddening to know the fact that producers target the 80% and hope for the 20% to try and fit in and are simply pushed back. I believe that a lot of the reason why our world is not one is because we exclude anyone and everyone who is not like us. Accessibility and inclusion, as heard in the speeches, are not just factors while designing but they should be what design should be based around. The example of airplane crashes summarized the entire talk because none of the pilots were average. Hence when they designed the seating according to the extremes, there were no crashes and it accommodated any human being.
Designing at the poles opens up a huge room for invention and might even produce better designs than for normal. The video in the beginning named ‘The Commute’ stood out for me because I felt really sympathetic towards the man in the wheelchair. It is easy to pity him but difficult to put yourself in his shoes. Design, as said by Kat Holmes, is the source and remedy of exclusion. Disabilities are vast, not only physical. I think the first step to solve this problem would be to rethink such categories in every field not just social power structures. What if there is no normal? Or being different is the same as normal? After incorporating everyone, a creator should aim for making is user-centered. This would only be possible when there is a user to designer interaction. Design is not a one-shot-make-it-perfect thing. After research, there is the making and then comes measuring and recording the functionality by real users. The feedback can be used to modify the product. Design could provide both positive and negative experience and this cycle is necessary to bring forth the flaws and highlights in order to get the best for all. Ethnography comes in hand for his because the designer needs to observe, learn and feel the real end user.
Another fascinating aspect by Keira Gwynn was the production of items that emit confidence rather than camouflage the disability. I think glasses are the best examples for it; aesthetics with purpose. Type writers, audio books, remote controls and others serve to all and enjoyed by all even though they were created for the disabled ones. If we take choices away from consumers then the design has failed, Dr. Moore believes that one should never feel constrained to be independent and design is for embracing all.
I think Metro Ticket Booths need to be more accessible and inclusive since they do not have any voiceovers for blind people or any directions in braille. They should also include ways to help people unfamiliar with technology and who speak different languages, difficulty in hearing, in wheelchairs, and with learning disabilities.
Traffic signals are also a problem for those whose vision is limited. They should have different sounds for each light on the same end of the person who is crossing. Ways to show the direction, the time left etc.
The fire alarms installed in houses could also be modified for the disabled. Along with the beeping noise, they could light up everywhere and also tell you the time remaining, etc.
The video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wi_kTejG3mw
