one of our group wins international competition!

Kathryn Gilbertson won the poster category of the EIDD Design for All competition. Congratulations Kathryn on a great design. It’s a fantastic result that everyone in the Design Department is proud of.

You can see her winning entry on this post, and her other entry on this post.

And here are the results of the competition. Hopefully they will be showing the winning entries soon.

disability trends in an ageing population

by Kathryn Gilbertson
The structure of New Zealand’s population is rapidly changing. The “baby boomers” are fast approaching retirement age, which means that by the 2040s, the population aged 65+ will have doubled, and the proportion aged 85+ will have quadrupled.

My poster entry for this year’s EIDD Design for All competition aims to encourage people to think beyond a “typical user” – to realise the population is diverse with very different needs. This is quite a broad concept and should definitely be applied to thinking about the need of the elderly.

designing for all

By Stephanie Ross
Swiss Typography is a graphic design style created in Switzerland in the 1950s. It accentuates cleanliness, readability, flat colour and precise grid systems.

Jan Tischold is a famous designer who has dedicated his life to typography. He is a ‘leading advocate for modernist design’. (Wikipedia) He designed a “universal alphabet” and also a number of modernist sans serif fonts including Transit, Saskia, Zeus and Sabon (pictured).

Swiss Typography and modernism were the inspiration for my second poster entry into the EIDD Ico-grada competition.

a massive challenge

by Josh Hannagan
In this not-so-new age of console games, computer screens, Internet dating and overworked office personnel, obesity is becoming a real issue for not only the current generations but for many to come. Along with the health problems that come with being grossly overweight, issues such as design considerations for the increasing ‘size’ of the population (individuals in the population rather than numbers) and social exclusion also arise.
This so-called epidemic is costing the country over $300million each year in health care alone.

So can being obese be classed as having a disability?

playing your hand at designing for all

by Sophie Smith
Design for All- creating something that is universal, something that anyone could or can appreciate and understand. 

For the EIDD competition that we entered as a design group I used a pun, playing your hand (literally) at designing for all. I used a playing card and transformed the centre of it into a design for all-related design, consisting of imagery related to designing for all; functional and user-friendly objects.

As the playing hand could have several connotations, I used type to collaborate and tie it all in to create understanding. The reason for such a plain and simple black and white colour scheme to me indicates a straight up and honest attitude and approach, which is what I was trying to convey. It should not be a complicated matter- creating design that can relate to a wide range of society is important. We no longer cater for the ‘norm’, or the old-fashioned ‘average’ user. We are a colourful and multicultural society and design must move with society.

the fragile world of diversity

by Josh Hannagan
The words ‘inclusion’ and ‘exclusion’ are thrown around and used to suggest a new way for society to approach disadvantaged and disabled groups of people. Through our inter-dependence project we have picked up and expanded on the concept of inclusiveness and found that inclusive society is entirely about maximizing peoples life chances.

You may have found your life was going very well until one day something very unfortunate happens. You became ill or even had an accident and you can no longer enjoy life as you used to. Simple everyday actions suddenly create small problems and you now have to rethink every movement. You may have to rely on other peoples help and not everyone is as accepting to others as they should be. Our project involves a way of creating a public awareness about the diversity of our society, the physical and social barriers associated with close-minded design and embracing new ways of designing for all. Fundamentally it is about creating equality.

Freedom Movement

making the future accessible

By Sophie Smith
As the next generation of designers, we must not forget that not everyone in this world is graced with good health and perfectly functioning body parts that many of us take for granted. 

My poor eyesight has opened my eyes to the world that exists for those who are visibly impaired – this is something that I can start thinking about on a personal level; making a difference for those in a similar situation as myself. I find that I really struggle around the University with dark areas, such as stairwells, where the lighting is insufficient. In a previous design project, fellow design student Jeremy Star designed posters that highlighted the danger of improperly lit areas around the University campus. 

Our design task here at University is on a scale that I think is a good starting platform – somewhere to begin making a noise, creating awareness. Disability awareness week and other events at our university here at Otago are becoming more widespread and are definitely well received. It is promising that people are taking an interest in those less fortunate than themselves health-wise, and are getting involved. 

bridging a communicative gap

by Janelle Hazeldine

Typography – there’s always the good, the bad and the ugly typefaces, but are there any that are universally liked, which suit many design styles, and more importantly which are legible to those with deteriorating eyesight?

Designer Tony Malone has researched the area of a diverse, yet inclusive typeface. “We conduct research on screen and display typefaces and paper stocks to improve legibility and usability, as well as more theoretical work on diversity and equality, including essays, consultations, experimental design projects.”

Results coming out of this are the typefaces:
• Proteus Serif: An accessible typeface for use on screen
• Diversity ONE: designed to be the world’s most accessible typeface

APHont

escape uniformity, liberate diversity

by Kathryn Gilbertson
Red Nicholson sees himself as a typical guy, with a positive outlook on life. He has spastic quadriplegia and uses a wheelchair to get around. He feels the biggest barriers to his independence are accessibility in transport and housing, and attitude problems in society. He believes that “disability awareness is such a cliché – it is more than just about making sure people have ramps. Its about educating and informing people about different types of disability, and what they can do to not make people with disabilities feel so alienated.”

Visit Red’s blog, and read his story, and the experiences of other New Zealanders living with disabilities in this book, ‘Life is for Living’. [right click here to download, 1.8 Mb]

what is inclusive design?

by Emily Mecchia
Key words: Inclusive Design, Accessibility, Design for all, Human Diversity. 

A ramp and accessible seating in Alabama.

The ADA standards for Accessible design (ADA standards) require inclusion of features such as accessible parking, routes, toliet features, public telephones, and spectator seating areas. This photograph is an example of an accessible route.
Design for all requires that any user can access, use, and understand any part of the environment with as much independence as possible. Design for all puts into practise respect for human diversity in environments, products and services.

creating positive messages

by Emily Mecchia 

Our project brief required us to create an effective poster design to enter into the EIDD (Design for all Europe) competition. The EIDD is the joint European platform for social planners, architects, designers and others who believe in the potentials of their professions to play a vital role in the necessary transformation of our societies into more cohesive, innovative and sustainable ones.

The design approach behind my poster reflects the EIDD objectives to transform our societies into more innovative and inclusive environments. Good design includes all individuals of different age, gender, capabilities and or, ethnicities.

creating diversity

The EIDD Design For All Europe Competition was the basis of our 325 paper this semester. The brief entitled us to create a 70 x 100cm poster representing the ‘differing perception’ in the design for social inclusion and diversity. Previously in this paper we had been concentrating on designing for disabilities and generating ideas that reflected societal issues that related to this.

Universal design is a part of everyday living and applies to many people in all parameters. It is the design that allows universal integration of everyday design and ‘barrier-free’ design, and removes the stigma that may surround it.

diverse design benefits all

by Janelle Hazeldine
We are all diverse beings. People once coined as ‘different’ or the ‘others’ are now being included in all societal realms. So it should be. The fact we have diverse qualities, whether found in personable traits or features, ensures the development and survival of a race. 

EIDD Poster Entry

mobility parking

By Amanda Halvorsen
Parking for disabled people is becoming a problem, mainly due to people misusing the parks. I believe it would be very frustrating for people with a disability or impairment who are unable to walk/wheel long distances, having to drive past disability parks filled with illegally parked cars of able-bodied people.

New legislation comes into play for mobility parking, and as a result of this, fine levels for the misuse of mobility parks can be increased around New Zealand (CCS 2008). Click here for the changes in legislation and Road Transport Rules.

“It’d be great to see private parking owners adopting some of the principles in the new legislation and monitoring the use of their mobility parking spaces.  Blocking disabled people from getting on with their business, shopping and leisure activities is still a big problem in New Zealand.”

- Peter Wilson, Mobility Parking Permit Scheme Manager.

Trekinetic facilitates greater independence

by Jason Anson
Persistence in research and development has paid off for both designer and users of Trekinetic wheelchairs. After having his prototypes rejected on more than one occasion designer Mike Spindel eventually gained the approval of his toughest critics and the Trekinetic was born.

Previous problems with the chair involved the wheels being too wide (good for stability, bad for doorways) and the rear castor easily becoming misaligned resulting in maneuverability issues. Paraplegic test-user Robin Gibbons, an ex-pilot said, “it was like driving a tea trolley around.” However, the issue with the rear castor became obsolete with the implementation of a spring loaded mechanism that fixed the wheel parallel to the chair when required enabling users to move in a straight line at speed. This feature is fundamental to the functioning of the three wheel design.
 

social acceptance of the disabled

by Amanda Halvorsen
Social acceptance is an issue which has changed immensely over the years due to attitude changes, barriers being removed and communities taking action. This is a vast improvement from the 1940s and earlier when it was common to call the impaired “retards”, “cripples” and to segregate them from all common and everyday activities. It is now the mission of many to provide an equal ground between able-bodied and disabled persons. The Dunedin City Council has a vision of equal rights and is doing its part for disabilities.

To attain this vision, a series of goals has been proposed by the Dunedin City Council, these six goals have been taken from The Dunedin City Council disability strategy.

1. Dunedin is accessible. 
2. Dunedin is barrier-free. 
3. The Dunedin City Council supports the social, recreation and cultural opportunities of disabled people. 
4. The Dunedin City Council is a good employer in providing a safe and accessible working environment. 
5. Disabled people are involved in the democratic process. 
6. Communication by the Dunedin City Council is inclusive of disabled people. 

Because the Dunedin City Council plays such a great part in the community, it is such a big step towards social acceptance of the impaired and disabled, if all physical, and social barriers are removed.

The posters I designed for the EIDD competition used themes of social acceptance, such as “a whole new frame of mind”. This was an effort to show how just a little change in thinking can do a lot for the disabled community. It is a lot more inclusive if barriers (not just physical) are removed, a there can be a new way of looking at helping everyone with any kind of need, impairment or disability.

China’s disabled acquiring inclusivity?

 

by Jason Anson

Communist ideologues that promoted China as a nation of healthy, strong model workers and farmers during the era of Mao Zedong spent a lot of time reinforcing prejudices against the disabled. Marriage was forbidden, forced sterilisation was common practice, as was selective abortion. China’s 83 million disabled are a largely invisible presence in a country where disabilities are still viewed as a source of shame in some families and many discriminatory practices continue. However, in Beijing, which has over one million disabled citizens, an extensive programme to improve accessibility at train stations, airports, hotels, hospitals and shops is facilitating inclusivity. Director of the city of Beijing’s Disabled Persons Affairs Committee Li Caimao admitted discrimination still exists but hopes the recent Paralympics will break down some of the prejudices.

Disability Awareness Week

by Alex Gilks
This week Otago Uni is host to a range of events for Disability Awareness Week. Choose from lectures, a debate, a quiz and curry, a workshop and an expo. There are bound to be good insights for our guys, and indeed for any designers and design students. Hope to see you there.

a universal identity

by Alex Gilks
This Universal Design identity project (‘UDid’) from 2004 was a collaboration between numerous academics and thinkers involved in universal design in the US. On the downloads page of the project site you can read a rationale for each of the different universal signs they came up with.

You can read more about it, and other projects, via the ‘IDeA’ site (Center for Inclusive Design and Environmental Access, University at Buffalo).

Removing barriers

Red from the Walking is Overrated blog stars in this slickly produced CCS awareness ad. 

The idea bears a passing resemblance to Jeremy’s knowledge ramp image.