Over the last few weeks, as the coronavirus has swept across the globe, we have all had to dramatically adjust our daily lives. Even those of us who have worked remotely before find this new level of detachment a significant adjustment. During this time, I have also begun to wonder, when we emerge from this, which we will, if we will quickly snap back to normal or if this has the potential to embed new daily habits and ways of working permanently?
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.