Universal Design: Simplified | Chapter 5
Let’s say you’re coordinating a meeting with a friend, and you say “I’m flexible. I can meet wherever is convenient. Any time is good for me.” What you are saying here is that you aren’t restricted to one location or one specific time, but rather that your friend’s preferences will more than likely work just fine. You are offering your friend a choice, understanding that you can easily adapt to their schedule and level of ability for accessing a location.
If there are multiple approaches for access, people aren’t going to be excluded…The same concept applies to the design of places, products, and programs. If there are multiple approaches for access to a location, different ways of using a product, or various ways to adapt a program, then people aren’t going to be excluded because they are different than the primary demographic that something was initially designed for. All we are saying here is that the design can meet the needs and desires of people with different abilities. Sometimes some adaptation will be required, and that’s okay. It doesn’t have to be complicated, and it doesn’t have to be expensive. Flexibility can even come naturally.
Example: consider the widespread popularity of smartphones. The technology inherently offers flexibility of use. Many smartphones have the options to increase text sizes for easy reading, or have components inside that vibrate to alert a user who isn’t looking at the device. Even touch screens that require less effort to manipulate than buttons do offer increased ease-of-use for everybody.
That’s flexibility. That’s one way to ensure that people don’t get left out, even if you don’t have to try very hard.
[bookpagefooter]