‘Disabled’ is a fluid and evolving way to label someone. Anyone who is not disabled today could acquire a disability through aging, illness, or injury. This creates a broader spectrum of experiences within the movement giving rise to increasingly equitable methods of design.
Universal Design, Human-Centered Design (HCD), and Equity-Centered Design (ECD) are approaches in design that focus on creating solutions that are inclusive and effective for users, but they differ in scope, focus, and principles:
1. Universal Design
Definition: Universal Design aims to create products, environments, and experiences that are usable by all people, regardless of age, ability, or other factors, without requiring adaptation or specialized design.
Key Principles:
- Inclusivity: Designed for the widest range of users.
- Equity: Everyone can access the product or environment equally.
- Simplicity: Focus on intuitive and easy-to-use designs.
- Flexibility: Accommodates a variety of needs and preferences.
Focus: Accessibility and usability for all, particularly those with disabilities, but without creating a segregated solution.
Example: A curb cut in a sidewalk is helpful for wheelchair users, parents with strollers, and delivery workers.
2. Human-Centered Design (HCD)
Definition: Human-Centered Design places the needs, desires, and contexts of the users at the forefront of the design process, aiming to create solutions that solve real problems for people.
Key Principles:
- Empathy: Deep understanding of users’ needs and contexts through research.
- Iteration: Continuous prototyping, testing, and refining based on feedback.
- Context-Specific: Tailored to the particular users or group being served.
- Co-Creation: Involves users in the design process.
Focus: Designing for the specific needs of a particular group or demographic.
Example: Designing a mobile app for farmers to monitor weather conditions based on interviews with farmers about their daily challenges.
3. Equity-Centered Design (ECD)
Definition: Equity-Centered Design focuses on addressing systemic inequities by prioritizing the needs of historically marginalized communities, fostering inclusion, and redistributing power in the design process.
Key Principles:
- Equity: Intentionally centers the experiences of the most vulnerable or excluded groups.
- Systemic Change: Challenges existing structures that perpetuate inequities.
- Power-Sharing: Co-creates solutions with communities, ensuring their voices are not only heard but lead.
- Justice-Oriented: Goes beyond inclusion to actively repair harm caused by inequitable systems.
Focus: Designing to address and disrupt inequity and injustice.
Example: Creating community-driven policies for housing that prioritize underrepresented or displaced populations, ensuring they have decision-making power.
