INDUSTRIAL DESIGN AND TECHNOLOGY (BA)

Universal/Inclusive Design
Assignment 1 Report

Alexander Roper
2009
Alexander Roper Universal/Inclusive Design

Contents
Introduction

1. Method
1.1 Teleconferencing
1.2 Questionnaire
1.3 Product/Cultural probe
1.4 School visit
1.5 Online voting
2. Results
2.1 Teleconferencing
2.2 Questionnaire
2.3 Product/Cultural probe
2.4 School visit
2.5 Online voting
3. Discussion
3.1 Teleconferencing
3.2 Questionnaire
3.3 Product/Cultural probe
3.4 School visit
3.5 Online voting

4. Conclusion

5. References

6. Appendices

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Introduction
Universal/Inclusive design definition: - Universal design is defined as the design of
products and environments to be usable by all people, to the greatest extent possible,
without adaptation or specialized design. (Sic) (Christopherson J. 2002 p 13)
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(Christopherson J. 2002 p 13)

During this report, User research activities, objectives and outcomes will all be documented.
The main aim of this assignment is to create three concept designs for disabled users, and
finally concluding with a final design.

The Aim of this project was to learn the practice of Universal design by considering everyday
difficulties for users which are less able than average target market. Designing for these
disabilities requires extensive market research and continuous client reviews.

A main objective of this project was to improve the author’s interactive skills and co-
designing techniques.

The author’s final design was a Multisensory sports themed game, which can be used
anywhere within the school. This themed game was targeted at autistic children.

1. Method
The original plan for this module was to produce a set of designs which would improve the
livelihood and daily routine tasks of a disabled user. Over the course of three weeks, site
visits were planned. The site visits consisted of speaking to volunteered students from three
special needs schools. These visits would allow us as designers, to come up with 3 concept
designs which would impact their daily lives for the better.

The site visits gave us the opportunity to collect information and improve our interaction
with users, face to face. We would be talking with students who volunteered, with specific
disabilities that range from ‘Multiple Sclerosis to Autism. The children would have 24-hour
carer help and be placed within special needs schools as they cater for all disabilities. The
site visits would allow a much greater insight so that we could gain specific information
about there every day needs. During the visits, we would interact with students who had
volunteered, by introducing ourselves, asking questions and engaging in general
conversation. During the conversations, we were advised to be active and realistic, and
consider possible design ideas. Talking to the students would allow us to create a real role-
play situation, meaning a greater level of empathy towards there disability. The student’s
ages would range from 5 to 18 years old. This would be important as different ages may

1
(Christopherson J. 2002 p 13) GE Torrens September 2009, 10/12/09

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impact my design choice. As well as talking to the students, it is very important to speak to
the carers and teachers, as they have a different perspective on these students needs.

After the first site visit, insights and possible opportunities would arise allowing us as
designers to produce user centred designs. Before the second and third visits we would aim
to have props and models of our designs to show the students. Visiting the schools
regularly, allows us to create a relationship as designers. This relationship would allow the
students to communicate more freely and ultimately allow us to gather more insights.

Due to the fact that Criminal Record Bureau (CRB) checks had not been completed for
those within the Industrial Design Department, it was not possible to complete face to
face visits with local Disability Schools. This has meant that the work has had to be
addressed using video conference facilities.

1.1 Teleconferencing

Teleconferencing facilities were set up as an alternative to visiting the schools and meeting
the children face to face, due to CRB Legalisation relevant to the schools we were going to
visit. Two webcams were installed within the department on two separate computers. The
multiple webcams allowed more than just one group to communicate to the schools at the
same time. In order to encourage feedback it was import to maintain an Iterative cycle of
development.

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1.2 Product/Cultural Probe

The aim of the product probe was to put together an information pack for the children to
complete which would allow the author to gather information to produce a specific game or
activity that would benefit these users. This product probes were derived from the
teleconferencing lectures and these were main sources of research. The Product Probes
contained colourful pens, note pads, post-it notes, a camera and a brief questionnaire.

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Product Probe Packs

1.3 Questionnaire

After the teleconferencing interviews, we came together as a group and thought of the
most important common questions to send off to each disability school, for the volunteered
students to complete. The questionnaires were sent to children between the ages of 5-18.
Multiple copies of these questionnaires were made and sent out to multiple schools.

Basic questions for the students were:-

1. Male or Female?

2. Age?

3. Favourite Sport/Hobby?

4. Frequency?

5. Who with?

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Product Probe Packs. https://student-webmail.lboro.ac.uk/horde/imp/message.php?index=958 10/12/09

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1.4 School Visit

The school visits allowed the author to gain an insight into the schools environment and
surroundings. We visited a school within walking distance form Loughborough University.
The school were kind enough to too arrange a tour of the school and a brief informal lecture
on the schools information, e.g. number of students, ranges of disabilities, and common
daily routines. A member of staff kindly volunteered to give up his free time to present this
visit.

See figures of some of the schools facilities:-

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Loughborough LEARN Server

1.5 Co-designing

After, teleconferencing, product probes and the school visit, enough research had been
gathered to start creating three inclusive designs which aided a specific need. These designs
were targeted at a specific user group, whether at an individual disability or a design which
aided the whole school. These designs would be critiqued by other universal design
students and co-design would be considered. Using other designers doing the same topic
would provide the opportunity for criticism. These designs will also sent off to each school
full feedback and critiquing. Both volunteered students and carers wrote comments. Many
design factors must be considered when producing inclusive designs. Manufacturing costs,
Safety issues, material choice and ethical considerations were all thought about during this
whole project. (See figure 3, 4, and 5 in Appendices)

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Loughborough LEARN Server http://learn.lboro.ac.uk/mod/resource/view.php?id=113209 09/12/09

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1.6 Online Voting

Each students design was saved to the Loughborough LEARN server with an online voting
system. This system allows all personnel involved to vote and choose their preferred designs
such as parents, guardians, pupils or engineers. These designs were also marked and
critiqued by an external engineering company, called REMAP.

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2. Results
2.1 Teleconferencing

The Information gathered from the teleconferencing interview was very brief and didn’t give
my group any substantial insights. In the first week of these webcam interviews, group six
were not able to talk to any volunteers. This was due to the networked computers having a
firewall system meaning that we only had one functional computer at a time, compared to
two working alongside. This meant that each group’s time frame was dramatically reduced,
meaning group six (the authors group) was missed off at the end of the session.

The following week, both webcams and networked computers worked successfully. Each
group was able to talk and ask questions to the volunteered students, the questions where
sport and hobby related.

Some insights that my group observed were:-

 Every individual student, depending on their disabilities was different.

 Most students over the webcam got very distracted during the conversation.

 Found it very difficult to speak to students that had problems communicating in a

confident way, meaning more positive effort was needed.

 The students preferred sports which could be classed as main-stream, or widely

popular sports. E.g. Football, Rugby, Swimming, Volleyball.

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Teleconferencing Session

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Teleconferencing Session https://student-webmail.lboro.ac.uk/horde/imp/message.php?index=958
10/12/09

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2.2 Questionnaire

The questionnaire allowed the author to gather more personal information about specific
individuals. These questionnaires were sent out with the product probes to gather primary
research.

The majority of the questionnaires sent back from the schools, contained a wide range of
information. Each individual school catered for different disabilities.

The information gathered back from the schools was brief but had many different directions
for design, from this information provided a specific direction must be chosen.

The information viewed on the questionnaires was written in messy unclear writing with
simple answers.

2.3 Product/cultural probes

The results of the questionnaire were received later than anticipated. It indicated sports
favoured by students were ones that could be play indoors. The modification of existing
products and equipment were the most popular due to the low manufacturing cost and
ease of use.

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2.4 School visit

After visiting the local school, we all were able to gather insights on different areas of the
schools environment and surroundings. The staff member that volunteered to show us
round, gave us a brief overview of the schools management and classroom activities. He
stressed the point of keeping the schools atmosphere as normal as possible. The author
noticed that the school has a clinical feel but that was expected due to the students extra
medical needs. Wheelchair users had complete access to all parts of the school. Ramps
were used for mobility. The staff member showed us learning aids and equipment to
improve each individual student’s school experience. All the aids were very personal and
only related to an individual. Lesson planners, reading equipment and writing aids were the
most popular items. Due to the individuality of each student, the products used by these
students were manufactured at low cost by low budget companies, or could have been
manufactured by modified existing products.

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School Photographs, Bubble Machine, Classroom, and Playroom

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Photographs of the school taken by ‘Laura Bradley’ with written permission 10/12/09

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2.5 Co-design

Once the majority of all the research was collected, the designing process became more
evident. Co-designing for a specific individual allows multiple ideas to be passed around.
Feeding off each other’s ideas made the process of designing simpler. In the authors group,
discussions and mind mapping exercises were used to generate ideas

After the teleconferencing sessions, the main ideas generated from the discussions were to
produce low tech solutions made from low cost and sustainable materials.

The Co-designs that we sent off to the schools were received back later than anticipated,
similar to the product probes. The designs were so late that we couldn’t present our original
design to REMAP.

The authors’ designs came back from the schools with notes and opinions on them, in the
form of post-it notes and scribbled writing.

(See figures 3, 4 and 5 in Appendices)

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2.6 Online Voting

The online voting process was very simple and took around 45 minutes to complete

There were five categories:-

Dislike a lot – Dislike – Neither like nor Dislike – Like – Like a lot

Each Students designs were uploaded onto the LEARN Server and for voting.

Results from a spreadsheet which were formatted after arrival

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Spreadsheet Results

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Received voting results https://student-webmail.lboro.ac.uk/horde/imp/mailbox.php?mailbox=INBOX
10/12/09

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3. Discussion
3.1 Teleconferencing

The main reasons for teleconferencing were to discover the likes and dislikes of the
individual students, concentrating on sporting and hobby based questions. It was very
important to create an instant relationship with the students to make them feel
comfortable when talking to complete strangers. The author was encouraged to be very
friendly and open to any response.

The first online conversation was a new experience for all the members of group six, so the
whole process of confidently talking and asking questions to new faces, over a webcam was
a nerve-racking experience. Brief preparation was undertaken to come up with a number of
simple but definitive question to ask the volunteer students. Each group had one or two
nominated speakers while the rest of the group thought of questions during the process.

As each week progressed, both parties grew in confidence during each conversation. We
were limited to a 5-10 min conversation each week and had to cram in lots of clear question
to multiple volunteers. One factor that was evident while speaking to these children was
keeping their attention; we did this by speaking about interesting relevant topics.

This teleconferencing process was the Plan B for this module and we had to gain as many
insights as possible from these interviews as this was our main source of personal
information. This information was out primary source for producing design ideas.

During this process, both the pupils that the authors group spoke to were autistic. In order
to maintain the university ethical procedures, and meet the requirements of the ‘Data
Protection Act’ only first name were exchanged verbally.

‘Autism is a lifelong developmental disability. It is part of the autism spectrum and is

sometimes referred to as an autism spectrum disorder, or an ASD. The word 'spectrum' is
used because, while all people with autism share three main areas of difficulty, their
condition will affect them in very different ways. Some are able to live relatively 'everyday'
lives; others will require a lifetime of specialist support.

The three main areas of difficulty which all people with autism share are sometimes known
as the 'triad of impairments'. They are:

 difficulty with social communication

 difficulty with social interaction
 Difficulty with social imagination.’
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National Autistic Society

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National Autistic Society, http://www.autism.org.uk/nas/jsp/polopoly.jsp?d=211
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3.2 Questionnaire/Product Probes

The questionnaires, although brief and unclear had to be deducted and translated into
readable text so that we could produce a solid idea of persona for each individual. Male
volunteers tended to choose full-contact sports such as football and rugby, while female
volunteers choose mainly non-contact sports and hobbies such as swimming and horse
riding. This outcome was very predictable. The student’s carers could have assisted the
students while completing these questionnaires, either with spelling or decision making.
This may have meant that the results were biased.

The Product probes were received back later than anticipated so the feedback we obtained
delayed the process of inclusive design.

3.3 School Visit

The school visit allowed every student to gather insights on the environment and
atmosphere of the school. Due to being a medical school as well as a special needs
educational school, this environment was very clinical with multiple medical machines. The
students of these schools would need these machines and equipment to keep their daily
routines comfortable. Rooms that the author visited were, the ‘sensory room’, multiple
class room for all ages and the textured library. These rooms all had a simple layout and
were all fitted with ‘Interactive White Boards’.

3.4 Co-Design

Producing Co-designs allowed the user and other designers to get involved with the
designing process. This process would make the designs closer to what the user wants or
likes. Co-design is a proven and tested process for success in inclusive design.

A considerable about of photocopying was done before all the designs were sent of to each
school for reviewing.

The notes that were left on the three designs were very hard to read at first, but with
deduction by other peers, the points presented became clearer. These points enabled the
author to improve the overall design.

The three game designs were all targeted at the same audience. The author wanted to
design a game which would interest and keep the attention of an autistic child but could
also appeal to other disabilities such as wheelchair users.

The main concept design that was chosen had the most definitive feedback.
I final chosen design idea had a basketball theme. Within the teleconferencing, basketball
was one of the most popular sports amongst the male pupils. Therefore the authors design
used this theme.

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WALL-BALL Proposition Board

This basketball themed game allows the user to throw, pass, or place any ball or object
throws any hole to trigger a recorded sound, emitted a vibrant coloured light and emote a
response.

3.5 Online Voting

The raw data that the author received back from the school was very brief, the spreadsheet
in which the results were shown, had to be analysed and grouped together to format the
authors accurate results. The data was received later than anticipated and made the process
of analysing shorter than hoped.

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Personal Proposition Board, Assignment 1 A

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4. Conclusion

Throughout this report, the author has had to constantly remind himself about ethical
issues, as well as manufacturing and inclusive design factors.

Throughout this project the aim was to learn about design research methods and there
issues, gathering first person results and client interaction. Ethical issues also had to be
considered while adhering to all the relevant legislation. This assignment reflects the
problems that are seen in industry. This module reflects the processes also seen in industry.
Working in Industry would have progressive problems and changes would have to be made,
so the designs must be able to adapt to these harsh situations.

In Industry participants are often paid or given an incentive to ensure they fully complete
activity such as questionnaires and survey so that the information received back is
extensive. Due to using volunteers from school, this extensive feedback was not possible.

More time should have been given for each Research task. Questionnaires, product probes,
and co-design are a huge part of gathering quality research. This extra time would allow the
feedback to be returned back without delay.

Overall the project was successful. This module has made the author feel more
confident about client interaction, peer to peer involvement and broadened the
understanding of ethical issues. This module has allowed the author to form a structured
and valid concept which could be looked upon with confidence, allowing the design to be
presented to the ‘client’ with the possibility of Leicestershire’s REMAP to manufacture one
or more for the schools involved. This would give back the school a design which was voted
highly and reward them for there effort.

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5. Referencing

1
(Christopherson J. 2002 p 13) GE Torrens September 2009, 10/12/09

2
Product Probe Packs. https://student-webmail.lboro.ac.uk/horde/imp/message.php?index=958 10/12/09

3
Loughborough LEARN Server http://learn.lboro.ac.uk/mod/resource/view.php?id=113209 09/12/09

4
Teleconferencing Session https://student-webmail.lboro.ac.uk/horde/imp/message.php?index=958 10/12/09

5
Photographs of the school taken by ‘Laura Bradley’ with written permission 10/12/09

6
Received voting results https://student-webmail.lboro.ac.uk/horde/imp/mailbox.php?mailbox=INBOX
10/12/09

7
National Autistic Society, http://www.autism.org.uk/nas/jsp/polopoly.jsp?d=211

8
Personal Proposition Board, Assignment 1 A

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6. Appendices

Questionnaires answers sheets

Fig 1 and 2

Fig. 3

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Fig. 4

Fig. 5

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INSIGHT BOARD

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PROPOSITION BOARD

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Original Weekly Plan

Week 5
Schedule for Site Visit 1 (updates in italics)
Friday 30th October 2009 12.00-5.00pm
The groups are allocated without preference to each school.
There are three sites that will be used in this activity:
Ashfield School, Leicester Groups 1 and 2
Maplewell College, Woodhouse Eaves Groups 3 and 4
Ashmount School, Loughborough Groups 5 and 6
The interview activity will start at each site at 2.00pm and finish at 2.55pm.
12.15pm Meet in Foyer of Bridgeman Centre, 15 minute briefing and head count to ensure
no-one is missing (please exchange mobile phone numbers within your group to
ensure you can contact anyone who does not arrive).
12.25pm Groups 1, 2, 3 and 4 will board the coach to take them to Ashfield and Maplewell
12.30pm Bus Depart
1.00pm Arrive Maplewell College. Groups 3 and 4 will alight here. There will be a waiting
time whilst the volunteer students finish their lunch. I suggest you use this time to
finalise group size and who will be the operator and scribes. (Now, Interviews for
Maplewell College with start at 1.30pm)
1.45pm Arrive Ashfield School. Groups 1 and 2 will alight and prepare for the interview.
(Be ready to interview immediately)
Groups 5 and 6 will arrive on foot at Ashmount School.
2.00pm Interviews will start. There will be some organisation required, as we will not
know exact numbers of volunteer students who will be taking part until the day.
This is due to alterations in individual students’ timetables or illness. During the
interviews you must at all times be supervised by a school member of staff.
2.55pm Interviews finish (Now, Maplewell finish at 2.20pm, Ashfield at 2.45pm). Volunteer
students will depart.
3.00pm Groups 1 and 2 will board the coach and depart Ashfield School.
Groups 5 and 6 will depart on foot from Ashmount School.
Groups 3 and 4 will wait for collection (use the time to start processing your data)
3.45pm (Notable collected by 3.30pm) groups 3 and 4 will be collected from Maplewell
College.
4.15pm all groups will be back on campus.

Within LEARN.

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Emphatic modelling

Emphatic modelling involves student interaction with a specific topic or situation. Groups
were divided, and each group given a specific impairment or disability. Individuals in each
group were given roles to play; the smallest female was chosen to be the user while the two
largest males were carers, while the other members of the group were operators or scribes.
The user had to carry out specific tasks and daily routines. The tasks were specifically
designed to challenge the individual with an associated impairment.

Empathic modelling and application of user assessment techniques

Group assessments:

In each group there were 2 carers; 1 participant; 1 operator asking the majority of the
questions and 2 scribes observing and note taking

Each group had a different impairment.

Group 1 - Myopic, due to Glaucoma

Group 2 - Cataracts

Group 3 - Obese, limited lower limb movement

Group 4 - Impaired vision, hearing

Group 5 - Impaired vision, upper limb impairment

Group 6 - Obese, limited lower limb movement

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Emphatic modelling

During this section of the module, the complete aim of emphatic modelling was for us as
undergraduate students to learn and experience different restricted situations. This
experience would allow each individual to gain an insight into the users’ lifestyle and to
those involved. Each group had a different disability or impairment. As a member of group
6, we were given lower limb impairment. To simulate this impairment, the smallest female
member of the group was given Large Ice Hockey pads to wear. As a group we tackled
different situations around the department. Both carers helped the participant to navigate
around a defined route inside and outside the department. During this experience, we
decided as a group to ask many relevant questions without overcrowding the individual. It
was very important to imagine yourself as true carers or as an individual involved with the
impaired person.

Questions that were asked during the experience before the route was undertaken, (asked
by the carers):-

How do feel around others?

‘...vulnerable, and a little embarrassed...’

Do you need a hand getting up?

‘...I’m ok, I’ll ask for help if I need it...’

Which way is easiest for you?

‘...whatever really, you lead the way...’

Questions that were asked halfway through the experience on route:-

Do you want to slow down at all?

‘...I’m ok; just give me a little more space...’

Do you need a hand with that?

‘...no thank you, I’m fine...’

How you feeling?

‘...I’m ok, but my legs are getting tired and aching a little...’

Do you still feeling embarrassed?

‘...a lot more, people keep looking at me...’

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Questions that were asked after the experience:-

Do you need to sit down, are you feeling tired?

‘...yes, could u help me get a seat...’

Did you feel like you were greatly restricted during the route?

‘... I felt like I needed to forward plan mind my step...’

Do you have any other thoughts about that task?

‘...I felt like I was being looked at or watched all the time, very self-conscious...’

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