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Design Meets Disability

Book · January 2009

DOI: 10.2752/175470710X12696138525983

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 design meets disability

Graham Pullin

The MIT Press' Cambridge, Massachusetts London, England

 contents
when the Eameses met leg splints ix
thanks xvii introduction 1

initial tensions 11
fashion meets discretion 13
exploring meets solving 39
simple meets universal 65
identity meets ability 87
provocative meets sensitive 111
feeling meets testing 135
expression meets information 155

meetings with designers 181

Tomoko Azumi meets step stools 184
if Philippe Starck met bottom wipers 198
if Jasper Morrison met wheelchairs 200
Michael Marriott meets wheelchairs 202
if Hussein Chalayan met robot arms 216
Martin Bone meets prosthetic legs 218
if Jonathan Ive met hearing aids 232
if Paul Smith met hearing aids 234
if Cutler and Gross met hearing aids 236
Graphic Thought Facility meets braille 238
if Tord Boontje met braille 252
Crispin Jones meets watches for visually impaired people 254 !
if Durrell Bishop met communication aids 266
if Julius Popp met communication aids 268
Andrew Cook meets communication aids 270
if Dunne & Raby met memory aids 264
if Stefan Sagmeister met accessibility signage 286
Vexed meets wheelchair capes 288

conclusion 301
notes 309 photographycredits 323 index 329
AAC, 157-179,267,269, Attention to hidden details, 235
271-283 Audiobooks, 95
Ability, 89. See also Disability Audiophilia, 95
Able-bodied, 33, 89, 91, 93. See Augmentative and Alternative
also Nondisabled Communication. See AAC
Abstraction, 227 Azumi, Shin, 5 2-5 3
Accessibility, 80, 85. See also Azumi,Tomoko, 52-53, 184-197
Disability
signage, 287 Background noise, 105
Achondroplasia, 18 7 Badge, 174, 176-1 77
Acoustic throne, 107 Bath chairs, 47
Adjustability, 7 6 Bath Institute of Medical
Adoption, of prototypes, 15 1-1 53 Engineering. See BIME
Adorn, Equip, 119, 12 1 Bespoke legs, 225
Aesthetics, 178-1 79. See also Design BicycleWheel, 2 1 1
Aha, 17 1 Bicycle wheels, 55, 205-2 15
Alison Lapper Pregnant, 1 12, 1 17 BIME, 81, 146-147, 187
All things to all people, 69, 85 Bishop, Durrell, 266-26 7
Alm, Norman, 165 Blankinship, Erik, 165-1 66
Ambiguity, 122, 17 3 Blind Design, 6 1
Anderson, Laurie, 167 BlindKiss, 80, 131-132, 261
Antidesign, 2 12 Blindstation, 95
Apple, 68-72, 77-79, 232-233, Blink Twice, 17 3 , 175
303-305 Bone, Martin, 2 18-23 1
Appliances, 7 1, 73 Boontje, Tord, 243-245, 252-253
Archetypal chairs, 53 Bosher, Peter, 73
Artificiality, 35, 167 Bottom wiper, 199
Artificial limb. See also Prostheses Braille, 253
workshop, 1 17 blowing up, 248-25 1
Artistic appreciation, 83 BraillGLite, 73
Artists, 11 5, 11 7, 268-269 dress, 58, 61
Assistive products, 92 mechanical, 25 7
Assistive technology, 2, 2 17, 26 1, for the sighted, 59-63
297 signage, 240-25 1
Attention to detail, 19, 209 wall, 248-25 1

index 331
 Braille-like, 63, 243 ballooning, 149
Bray, Duane, 144- 145 telescoping, 2 17
Breuer, Marcel, 47 Cognitive impairment, 85, 2 85
Buchanan, Jamie, 105 Colours randomly chosen, 132
Buchenau, Marion, 141 Communication. See also AAC
engaging, 158
Camouflage, 15, 18, 28 unambiguous, 15 8
Carbon fiber legs, 30-3 1 Communication aids, 15 7-1 79,
CD player, 83 267, 269,271-283
Cell phones, 127-1 3 1 Complex communication needs,
Ceramic 15 8. See also AAC
braille, 248-25 1 Concealment, 23
hearing aid, 307 Constantine, David, 55-5 7, 20 1
tiles, 247 Contextual disability, 9 1
Cerebral palsy, 75-76, 165 Cook, Andrew, 270-283
Chairs Craftspace, 177
1,000 chairs, 5 1 Critical design, 12 1-1 33, 15 1,
acoustic throne, 107 259-261,285
archetypal Japanese, 53 Crystal, David, 159
Bath chair, 47 Cultural diversity, 89
DCW, xiii Cultural divisions, 103
evolution, 5 1 Cultural references, 2 1
Forgotten Chairs, 5 1 Cultural tension, 15
Gentleman's chair, 50 Curious Home,The, 149-1 5 1
Herman Miller, xiii Cutler, Graham, 2 1
nextmaruni, 5 3 Cutler and Gross, 14, 18, 2 1,
Wassily, 47 236-237.302
wheelchairs (see Wheelchairs)
Woosh, 74 Dark chocolate, 280
XL1 Kit, 206-207 Dark humor, 12 7
Chalayan, Hussein, 2 16-2 17 Dazed & Confused, 29-3 0
Chowdhary, Lubna, 246, 247 Deafness, 102
Churchill, Toby, 26 7, 2 72 Deaf with a capital D, 102-1 03,
Clinical trials, 137 23 7
Coffee tables Deafwith a little d, 102, 105, 237

332 index
Decoration, 253 resonant, 93, 109, 297
Dementia, 8 1-83, 146-147 for special needs, 2
Design standards, 5 1
for all, 10 1 universal, 2, 67
that asks questions, 12 1 user-centered, 90
awards, 69, 75-76 What Is Design?, 305
constraints, xiii for the whole population, 67
critical, 121-133, 151, Designing for Access, 177
259-261,285 Dictionary of Primal Behaviour,
for disability, 2 171-173
engineering, 49, 2 12, 303 Disability
ethnography, 90 achondroplasia, 18 7
exploration, xv, 43-64 amputees, 2 8-3 7, 2 19-2 3 1
fashion, 13-38, 216-217, arm movement, 2 17
236235,237,288-299, cerebral palsy, 75-76, 165
303 cognitive impairment, 85, 285
furniture, xi-xv, 5 1-55, 57, complex communication
59, 184-197,200-215 needs, 157-1 79, 267, 269,
good, xi 271-283
graphic, 175, 238-25 1, contextual, 9 1
286-287 definition, 1, 9 1
inclusive, 2, 67 dementia, 8 1-83, 146-147
industrial, 24-28, 70, 83-85, hearing impairment, 23-28,
173-175,218-233, 101-105, 126, 233, 235,
252-253,266-267 237
interaction, 70, 94-1 01, medical model, 19,47, 205
127-131, 138-139, mobility impairment, 42,
144-145, 149-151, 44-49,s 5-5 7
161-164, 169-171, phocomelia, 117
256267,270-283 resfricted growth, 187
interdisciplinary, 2 14, 303 restricted reach, 199
interior, 241 signage, 287
language, 23 3 speech impairment, 267, 269,
ludic, 15 1 271-283
mainstream, 2 upper limb disablement, 2 17

index 333
 visual impairment, 16-2 3, Facial expressions, 163
61, 73, 80, 93-101, Fake, 22 1
131-132,240-251, Fashion, 13-38
255-265 Fashion-able?, 29
Disabled people, 2. See also Disability Fashion designers, 29-3 3 , 2 16-2 17,
Discretion, 15 234235,288-299, 303
Diversity, 89, 183 Fashion retail, 236-23 7
Dobson, Kelly, 123-1 24 Figueiredo, Dierdre, 1 7 7
Dover Street Market, 23 7 First impressions, 175
Drift Table, 149-1 5 1 Fitness for purpose, 67
Duchamp, Marcel, 2 10-2 15 Flagiello, Caroline, 105
Dunne, Anthony, 12 1-1 22 Flesh-colored plastic, 235
DunnekRaby, 121-122, 151, Flying submarine, 75-76
284-285 Forgotten materials, 223
Fox, Shelley, 6 1
Eames, Charles, xiii, 305 Fraser, Mat, 1 19
Eames, Charles and Ray, xi-xv, Frayling, Christopher, 75
306-307 Frivolity, 125
Eames, Ray, xv Fukasawa, Naoto, 83
Edelkoort, Li, 6 1 Fulton-Suri, Jane, 141
Eerily realistic, 167 Furniture
Electric Shock Mobile,The, 127-1 29 acoustic throne, 107
Electricwig, 1 7 7 chairs (see Chairs)
Electro-draft Excluder, 15 1 for children with cerebral
Ellenson, Richard, 173-1 75 palsy, 75-76
Emotional response, 83 coffee tables, 149, 2 17
Enfants terribles, 21, 59, 305 Drift Table, 149-1 5 1
Engineering brilliance, 303 interactive, 149-1 5 1
Ephemeral kiss, 169 Milan fair, 5 1
Ephemeral speech, 269 step*stools, 185-1 97
Everest & Jennings, 47 Table = Chest, 1 88-1 89
Experience prototyping, 139-1 45 TableTalk, 105-108
Expressive gestures, 17 1 wheelchairs (see Wheelchairs)
Eyes-free interaction, 9 4 Furniture designers, xi-xv, 5 1-55,
Eyewear, 1 8-2 3. See also Glasses 57, 59, 184-197, 200-215

334 index
Garden shed, 226 Hands
Garland lamp shade, 2 52-25 3 abstraction, 1 19
Gaver, Bill, 148-1 5 1 bespoke, 226
Gizmo, 73 clammy, 3 5
Glasses expression, 17 1
camouflage, 18 golden, 35-3 7
Cutler and Gross, 14, 18, 2 1, pink plastic, 35, 3 7
236-237 rubbery, 3 5
Eastman, 2 18, 223 split hooks, 35
eyewear, 18-23 Hansen, Mark, 167-1 68
materiality, 17 Hard of hearing, 102. See also
National Health Service Disability, hearing
spectacles, 16-1 8 impairment
nonprescription lenses, 17 Hawking, Stephen, 166
pink plastic, 17 Health Buddy, 144-1 45
sunglasses, 2 18, 223 Hearing, 103
surround sound, 20 Hearing aids, 23-28, 126, 233,
Glass legs, 33 235,237, 305,307
Gloucester smart house, 146-147 concealment, 23
Gold earpieces, 2 7 Deaf with a capital D, 102
Golden hand, 34-37 evolution, 23
Goldsmiths College, 149-1 5 1 HearWear, 2 5-28
Gosling, Ju, 12 1 miniaturization, 23
Graphic designers, 175, 238-25 1, pink plastic, 23, 28
286-287 Hearing impairment, 23-28,
Graphic Thought Facility, 2 3 8- 101-105, 126, 233, 235,
25 1 237
Gregorian chant, 167 Hearing technology, 25-27, 107
Gross, Tony, 2 1, 23 7 HearWear, 25-28, 126
Hecht,oSam, 27
H2.0 symposium, 33 Herman Miller, xiii
Hand-carved wooden legs, 3 1 Herr, Hugh, 33-35, 22 1
Hand controllers, 143 Hidden detail, 235
Hand-ear coordination, 95 Hocking, Clare, 125
Hand of Good, Hand of God, 119 Holmes, John, 159

index 335
 Honeyman, Art, 165-1 66 Iterative user testing, 146
Hulger, 2 8 Ive, Jonathan, 70-7 1, 232-233,
Hunter, Joe, 293-299 303-305,307
Hunter, Mat, 138
Jobs, Steve, 79
Iconoclasm, 287, 303 Johnson, Paul, 165
IDEO, 93, 101-108, 127-131, Jones, Crispin, 98-1 0 1, 127-1 3 1,
138-145,221-223 136,254-265
Impairment, definition, 1. See also
Disability Kerr,Duncan, 138-139, 169-171
Inclusive design, 2, 67 Kiss Communicator, 169-1 7 1
Induction loop, 10 7 Knitwear, 6 1, 1 19
Industrial designers, 24-28, 70,
83-85,173-175, 198-199, Lapper, Alison, 117
218-233,252-253, Latif, Amar, 163
266-267 Leckey, James, 75-76
Industrial Facility, 20, 2 7 Legs
Insensitivity, 125 bespoke, 225
Interaction designers, 70, 99-1 0 1, carbon fiber, 30-3 1
127-131, 138-139, cosmetic, 3 1, 22 1
144-145, 149-151, glass, 33
161-164, 169-171, hand-carved wooden, 3 1-3 2
254-267, 270-283 men's, 225
Interaction Research Studio, Otto Bock, 220
149-151 polka dot, 33
International Classification of prosthetic, 29-35, 2 17-23 1
Functioning, Disability and silicone, 3 1
Health (ICF), 9 1 women's, 225
Intonation, 165, 2 77. See also Voice, wooden, 31-32,225
tone of Leg spPint, xi
diagrams, 159-1 60 Lightness of touch, 85
Invisible hearing aids, 15 Lightwriter, 267
Invisible radiation, 15 1 Limbs. See also Prostheses
iPhone, 7 1-73 cosmetic, 3 1
iPod, 69-71, 77-79, 232-233 functional, 3 1

336 index
 prosthetic, 28-3 7 Noisy environment, 105
Lip-reading, 105 Nondisabled, 92. See also Ablebodied
Listening Post, 167
Long, Catherine, 1 19 Older people, 145
Lovegrove, Ross, 22, 24, 27 Open Source Prosthetics, 226
Ludic design, 15 1 Optometry, 2 1
Orpwood, Roger, 83, 146-1 47,
Macabre, 167 187
Mainstream design, defined, 2 Otto Bock, 220
Marriott, Michael, 202-2 15
Marshall, Sandy, 186-1 87 Paralinguistic, 163
Martin, Heather, 169-1 7 1 Patients, 16
Materiality, 17, 22 1 People
McQueen, Alexander, 29 with dementia, 8 1-83,
Medical model, 19, 47, 205 146-147
Meetings with designers, 18 1-299 with disabilities, 2 (see also
Memory aids, 146-147, 285 Disability)
Milan furniture fair, 5 1 disabled, 2 (see also Disability)
Miniaturization, 23 older, 145
MIT Media Lab, 33, 123, with restricted growth, 187
165-1 6 6 , 2 2 1 with restricted reach, 199
Modularity, 7 6 visually impaired, 93-1 0 1 ,
Monestier, Jacques, 35-3 7 240-25 1 (see also Disability,
Moon writing, 6 1 visual impairment)
Morgan, Huw, 245, 247-25 1 People first language, 2
Morrison, Jasper, 53-54, 200-201 Performance, 2 7 7
Motivation, 55, 20 1 Petrie, Helen, 147
Moulton, Alex, 2 1 1-2 15 Phocomelia, 1 17
Mr Jones Watches, 254, 258-259 Pigeonhole, 3
Muji CD player, 83 Pink plastic, 15
Mullins, Aimee, 29-33, 22 1 glasses, 17
hands, 35, 37
Newell, Alan, 92, 161 hearing aids, 23
Nextmaruni, 5 3 Placebo, 15 1
Ninja fleece, 293 Platforms, 7 1

index 337
I
 Playful exploration, xv, 4 1, 149 quick-and-dirty, 145
Playstation, 142, 175. See also Wizard of Oz, 144
Blindstation Punctuation, 159
Pleasure, 305
Plywood Quinn, Marc, 1 17
forming, xi-xv
furniture, xiii Rabin, Antony, 102
leg splint, xi Raby, Fiona, 12 1
sculpture, xv Radio dials, 95
Poetry, 165-1 66 Radio prompts, 147
in mundane products, 199 Radios
Popp, Julius, 268-269 Digital Audio Broadcasting, 79
Prepared piano, 2 79 iconic, 8 1
Pretty, 43, 63 simple, 8 1
Problem solving, 41 single-station, 8 1
Prostheses Teddy Blood Bag, 2 84
artificial limb workshop, 117 Really, seventeen ways to say, 165
climbing, 3 3 Resonant design, 92-94, 109, 297
cosmetic, 3 1 Restricted growth, 18 7, 189
emotional, 123 Restricted reach, 199
functional, 3 1, 22 1 RNIB, 97-99, 131-132, 247, 257
hands, 35-3 7 RNID, 25, 101-102, 104-105
legs, 29-35, 219-231 RNLI, 13 1
limbs, 28-3 7 Robins, Freddie, 119
Open Source, 226 Roope, Nic, 28
split hooks, 35 Rose, Damon, 13 1
running, 3 1 Royal College- ofArt, 75, 12 1, 189,
Prosthetic. See Prostheses 207,226, 245
Prototypes, 137-1 53 Rubbery hands, 35
adoption, 153 Rubin, Ben, 167-1 68
behaves-like, 14 1
early, 139 Sable, Sebastien, 95
experience, 139-1 45 Safecracking, 95
looks-like, 141 Sagmeister, Stefan, 286-287
preproduction, 139 Sarcasm, 159

338 index
Scream Body, 12 3 Superhuman hearing, 103
Sculpture, xiv-xv, 1 15 Supersafe products, 132
Self-expression, 17 1 Swiss Army knife, 7 1
Self-image, 2 5 9
Sensitivity, 1 13 Table = Chest, 188-1 89
Shabban, Somiya, 177 TableTalk, 105-108
Shamash, Michael, 189 Tactile map, 247
Short Armed and Dangerous, 1 19 Tactile watches, 97-1 0 1
Simple radios, 8 1 Tactophonics, 270, 273-277
Simplicity, 67-86 Talking user interface, 80
Sitting to attention, 5 7, 20 1 Talking watches, 9 7, 2 5 7
Smart homes, 12 5 Tango!, 172-173, 175
Smith, Paul, 234-23 5 Tensions
SocialMobiles, 127-131, 161-164 cultural, 15
Social model, 19, 47 healthy, xv
Sod off, 17 7 initial, 4 , 11-1 79
Solving problems, 4 1 Terrible affliction, 13 1
Speaking Mobile,The, 16 1-1 6 4 Text-to-speech, 159
Spectacles. See Glasses Therapeutic excellence, 3 03
Speech technology, 80 Thompson, Henrietta, 25
Sperlein, Bodo, 63 Thorpe, Adam, 293-299
Spiekermann, Erik, 175 Tissot, 9 7-99
Spimes, 75 Titanium steel, 209
Split hooks, 35 Toby Churchill, 267
Spyfish STY 141-143 Toneofvoice, 159, 193, 267,
Starck, Philippe, 198-1 99 Trendy nose pegs, 132
Step stools, 185-197 Trickle-down effect, xiii
Stereotype, 49, 89, 177 Trimpin, 278, 280
Sterling, Bruce, 73 Trite logos, 287
Stevens, Andy, 243-25 1 Tubular steel, 47
Subjectivity, 144 Tyler, Steve, 73, 99
Submarine Typography, 267
flying, 75-76
Playstation game, 142 Uh-huh, 163
telepresence vehicle, 14 1-1 43 Universal design, 2, 67

index 339
 University of Dundee, 5 1, 8 1, 92, synthetic, 167
161, 165, 273 tone of, 15 9
TJrhan culture, 297 Voice-enabled PDA, 9 3
Urban mobility cape, 296 Voice output communication aids,
Urtica, 171-1 73 157
Usability lab, 144 Vojvodic,Violeta, 1 7 1-1 73
User-centered design, 90
User interfaces. See also Design, Waller, Annalu, 165
interaction Wassily chair, 47
accessibility, 80 Wastefulness, 125
auditory, 80 Watches, 97-99, 101, 254-265
nonvisual, 9 4 audible, 25 7
radio, 80 Discretionwatch,The, 10 1
screen-based, 95 HumilityWatch,The, 259
talking, 80 PersonalityWatch,The, 25 9
User testing, 144, 146 RNIB, 97-99,257
Utopian vision, 12 1 Silen-T, 9 7-99
B tact, 101
Van Daalen, Johanna, 177 tactile, 97, 257
Venus de Milo, 1 17 talking, 97
Veterans Association, 47 Tissot, 97-99
Vexed, 288-299 Waterproof, 29 1
Victoria &Albert Museum, 15 1 Wearer, 19, 5 7, 259
Visually impaired design team, 9 4 Wheelchair access, 287
Visually impaired people, 16-23, Wheelchair capes, 289-299
61, 73, 80, 94-101, Wheelchairs, 45-49, 55-59, 201,
131-132, 241, 247, 253, 203-21 5
255-265 basketball, 47
Voice Bath chairs, 47
dark chocolate, 280 bicycle wheels, 55
disembodied, 146-1 47 Cambodia, 55
find their voice, 17 8 convergence, 45-49
his, 166 Everest & Jennings, 47
monotonic, 167 in low-income countries, 5 5
rich fruitcake, 280 Motivation, 55-5 7
I

340 index

:
.,....,.,.
.......................
l:!:::::

Y
 posture, 5 7 You cannot not communicate, 175
RGK Interceptor, 48, 204 Yuck, 171-1 73
sports, 47
three-wheeled, 5 5
titanium steel, 209
tropical hardwood, 55
tubular steel, 47
welded metal, 55
WHO, 1, 91
Without thought, 83
Wizard of Oz prototypes, 144
Wood
Bath chairs, 47
clogs, 278, 280
furniture, xiii
hand-carved legs. 3 1
hardwood composite, 223
legs, 3 1, 225
leg splint, xi
nextmaruni chairs, 53
plywood forming, xi-xv
sandalwood watch, 26 1
sculpture, xv
tiered skirt, 2 16-2 17
wheelchair for Cambodia, 5 5
World Health Organization. See
WHO
Writing
Moon, 61
space, 247

Yes
nine ways to say, 159
sort o f . . ., 163
ye-yeah, 163

index 341

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