Building a very beautiful website or a very cool community space that very few people can access to is of no point. That’s why we have to have universal design
in mind from the start. From Wikipedia:
Universal design refers to a broad-spectrum solution that produces buildings, products and environments that are usable and effective for everyone, not just people with disabilities.
It emerged from “barrier-free” or “accessible design” and “assistive technology” and recognizes the importance of how things look. For example, while built up handles are a way to make utensils more usable for people with gripping limitations, some companies introduced larger, easy to grip and attractive handles as feature of mass produced utensils. They appeal to a wide range of consumers.
In the Web context, W3C’s Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI) works with organizations around the world to develop strategies, guidelines, and resources to help make the Web accessible to people with disabilities. BBC’s Future Media Standard & Guidelines also provide comprehensive guidelines to accessibility (designed for their websites, but applicable to yours as well).
Center for Universal Design at North Carolina State University outlines the principles of universal design, these principles are broader than those of accessible design:
The authors, a working group of architects, product designers, engineers and environmental design researchers, collaborated to establish the following Principles of Universal Design to guide a wide range of design disciplines including environments, products, and communications.
- Equitable use
- Flexibility in use
- Simple and |intuitive
- Perceptible information
- Tolerance for error
- Low physical effort
- Size and space for approach and use
