A 2-year-old boy’s reaction to a Target ad is a powerful reminder of why representation matters

For young Oliver Garza-Pena, the trip to the store was like any other. But then he looked up and saw someone staring back who looked just like him.

Universal Design (UD) is an approach to design that increases the potential for developing a better quality of life for a wide range of individuals. It is a design process that enables and empowers a diverse population by improving human performance, health and wellness, and social participation (Steinfeld and Maisel, 2012). It creates products, systems, and environments to be as usable as possible by as many people as possible regardless of age, ability or situation.