Professor Bess Williamson in her book Accessible America: A History Of Disability and Design wrote that “Design is a hopeful practice, one that looks to improve the current state of things and connect to functionality with a human, creative, sensitive touch.”
Whatever else we may feel about the benefits and drawbacks of social media, it has produced at least one clear positive. Disability Culture is thriving online.
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.
