Universal Design--Seeking the Greatest Inclusivity

This is why such card chains designed in Japan boast a latch-based design which, when pulled with sufficient force, will automatically detach, able to be reused again later when the latch is reconnected. This same design concept can be applied in the home to curtain chains, so that if a child should get tangled in one, tugging on it with a force greater than three kilograms (less than the weight of the average infant) the chain will detach, protecting them from accidental injury.

Minimizing the unfortunate aftermath of accidents-such is the goal of universal design. Universal design is a concept that was developed in the United States and rose to popularity in Japan, and which aims to inspire designs that are beneficial to people and can be integrated into daily life. But what has it achieved in the five years since it spread to Taiwan?

A sopping wet scouring pad can be hard to dry, and can also breed all kinds of bacteria; when eating hot-pot, the ladle can often slide into the boiling broth, requiring chopsticks to fish it out again; half-used ketchup packets can easily be held closed with a rubber band, but when you try and reopen them to use the rest, you are likely to get ketchup splattered all over your hands. Isn't there something that can help us solve these problems?

Huang Ju-wei, a student of the National Chiao Tung University Institute of Applied Arts, designed a "U-shaped scouring pad" which has a one-centimeter-wide groove down the middle of it and can be slotted over the side of a pot-this way you don't have to turn the plates around to wash the back of them, and the sponge itself can stand up and dry on an ordinary kitchen rack. Hung I-yuan and Tseng Tse-wei of National Yunlin University of Science and Technology designed a "pot-side clip," similar in shape to a women's hair clip, which has an anti-slip pad on the inside, and comfortably holds ladles up and out of the broth. Engineers Yang Chuwei and Zhang Chuchen, both from Compal Electronics, designed a product called "Storage," which uses two square pieces of plastic to close over the ends of ketchup packets, and has a circular lid on the top to allow easy reopening of the packet while also keeping the contents fresh.

Free Universe Education Foundation has been active in the promotion of universal design. Foundation chair Dan Tang, sitting in his electric wheelchair, holds in his right hand (his only functioning hand) a booklet with the nominations for the 2009 Universal Design Awards. Next he picks up a product known as "Another Hand," an already-commercialized product of which he is proud, and demonstrates how it enables him to clean off a plate of food with only one hand.

An ordinary round plate, but with an extra section sticking up on one side, Another Hand helps users push their spoons in the right direction, but also assists in collecting rice or vegetables and getting them into the spoon. Together with a wide-handled, lightweight, broader-than-average spoon designed in Japan to help children learn to use a spoon, these two are kitchenware that Tang takes with him everywhere; while sitting in his wheelchair eating with this setup, he attracts no shortage of strange looks, but being a keen promoter Tang takes these looks as chances to extol the virtues of universal design.

When Tang was promoting these two to the Taichung City Government, mayor Jason C. Hu quickly saw the value of the design. Hu's own wife had her right hand amputated after a car accident, leaving her able to eat only with her left hand and in need of just such an invention.

"Universal design" has become a battlefield on which Taiwanese design students from colleges around Taiwan have begun to compete, and this is in no small part thanks to the tireless promotion of it by Tang.

In 1991, Tang, who suffered polio as a child, moved north from Chiayi looking for work. Starting from the age of 25, he spent time working with Eden Social Welfare Foundation, a church, and the Taipei City Government, and even ran-unsuccessfully-for a seat on the Taipei City Council, before discovering online the wonder of universal design. In 2004, by his own efforts he set up the Free Universe Education Foundation, aiming to promote universal design and build a business on it. Asking himself how quickest to get people to understand the idea of universal design, Tang struck upon one answer-competitions.

After gathering sponsoring enterprises around Taiwan, Tang traveled to design departments at 55 colleges promoting both the concept of universal design and his contest about it, ultimately attracting 643 entrants to the first Universal Design Awards. By 2009, this number had grown to over 800. Universal design had finally begun taking root in Taiwan through the creative endeavors of these young designers.

"If I had only one hand, how could I cut steak?" "If I were a child or an elderly person, what kinds of problems would I have with meals?" When design students were asked these kinds of questions, a torrent of warm-hearted creativity poured forth.

The theme of the first awards was "eating," and the awards attracted much interest. One entrant, a "hot-dog helper," even made Tang himself gasp and ask "Who would come up with something this innuendo-laden?"

The designer was in fact Wang Weixiu, a student of the Visual Communication Design Department at National Taiwan University of Arts. Wang's girlfriend loved eating hotdogs, which in Taiwan are usually served on a bamboo skewer rather than in a bun. But every time she took a bite, the skewer would prick her, and she'd have to try eating it sideways or pushing the sausage up the skewer and getting sauce all over her hands. Wang thought up a way to attach something to the bottom end of the hotdog to help with pushing the hotdog up the skewer. This way, after every bite you could push the hotdog up, making every bite a safe and easy pleasure.

The prizewinner at the fourth universal design awards was this U-shaped pot scourer, designed with a channel down the middle that lets you easily clean both sides of a plate without having to turn it over.

While these universal design contests have been running a mere five years in Taiwan, the concept itself goes back over half a century.

Over the course of the 1950s, coming out of World War 2 and going through the Korean War, and then further ahead through the Vietnam War and onward, European and American societies began seriously focusing on the issue of disabled-accessible spaces in the wake of all the casualties of war. In 1987 American Ron Mace, a professor of architecture at the University of North Carolina and confined to a wheelchair by polio, coined the term "universal design." Mace stressed that universal design was not some new style or field, but rather the concept that when designers conceive of new products and companies produce them, they should consider using the most direct, simplest methods so that users could intuitively use the products. Thus products would not need to be improved or specially designed, and could reach the biggest audience most quickly, such as left-handed scissors or home and mobile phones simple enough for even the elderly to use.

Although universal design has its origins in assisting those with mobility issues, Dan Tang wanted to bust the myth that universal design was just something for the disabled. Since his time with the Taipei City Government, Tang has conducted frequent investigations with civic representatives into Taipei City's disabled-friendly facilities. He even fought for two years just to get the MRT system to delay the closing of their carriage doors by six seconds.

Tang says that such "free spaces" are not just for the disabled-pregnant women, people with strollers, people carrying heavy luggage, elderly people, and those with chronic illnesses or accidental injuries should also be considered. And as global demographics change and modern medicine increases lifespans, designers must take into consideration not only children, pregnant women, and the elderly, but themselves as well, since they are more likely than ever to end up the beneficiaries of such designs.

Third place winner "Storage" uses a two-sided plastic latch to lock the end of ketchup packets, providing a lid on the top so it can be reopened and used again later. This way, you cut down on trash while also being able to continue using the sauce without getting it all over your hands.

Universal design is fundamentally about simplicity and intuitiveness. From things as small as whether or not a mug is light enough for someone with "mother's wrist" (pain and weakness in the hand from tendon sheath inflammation) to pick up, or what size "bite-sized" jellies should be so as not to get stuck in children's throats and choke them; to things as big as facilities and lines of circulation in entire buildings and environmental spaces, universal design emphasizes safety, health, comfort, aesthetics, and accessibility, and has earned much praise for it.

"The tragedy of deaths caused by inappropriate spaces is something that plays out every single day," says Tang. In America, on average 340,000 elderly people break bones through falls each year, with 40% never fully able to walk unassisted again, and with medical expenses as high as US$12.6 billion. In Taiwan, on average one child and 10 elderly people are injured in falls every day, with treatment for these accidents costing over NT$10 billion each year. And the evidence of this surrounds us in our everyday lives.

"Why don't men wash the dishes for their wives?" asks Tang. His answer: because the dishwashing area in kitchens generally isn't designed high enough for men to use without having to bend down, resulting in backaches. This non-ergonomic design may be one of the major reasons why men don't help with chores.

And in public spaces and restaurants, letting children wash their hands at basins is even more difficult, and parents need to lift their children up or fetch a stool. This is because most public spaces have not yet incorporated universal design concepts, instead simply designing for the height, weight, and strength of an average adult. This can, though, create unsafe and inconvenient spaces for many people, depriving the physically challenged, children, or the elderly of opportunities. When this becomes a problem, a great deal of money and community resources must be used to carry out improvements.

With numbers printed on tabs on the bottom, these paper cups are perfect for parties, as guests won't get their cups mixed up. However, this design requires a costly retooling of production facilities, meaning it is still waiting for the opportunity to be commercialized.

Tang has already decided on the theme for the 2010 awards-the home. He hopes that participation will go beyond campuses, and expand to include professional architects and interior designers. He has also asked several construction firms to take part, building a three-bedroom dream home over 115 square meters, including an accessible bathroom and kitchen shelves that are height-adjustable-everyone's thought of.

Ever since the first competition, Tang has actively been in touch with manufacturers, but there have been many difficulties.

Take, for example, the first such design he commercialized, the "Another Hand" plate. Tang asked a number of ceramicists in Taipei County's Yingge Township if they could produce them. They, though, said the market was too small and it wouldn't recoup its costs. Eventually, through a friend, he had the opportunity to inquire at Tatung Chinaware, where he demonstrated the plate for the CEO. The CEO's eyes teared up at the thoughtful design and he immediately agreed to start production. In three years, the plates have sold a total of 20,000 units at NT$260 each. Surprisingly, the main buyers have been net-addicted nerds, who account for around 50% of the sales; they buy them because they can keep using their mice with their right hands while eating with their left.

In 2007, Taipei City mayor Hau Lung-bin was invited to award the prizes to the Universal Design Awards winners, and when he saw the "Who's Cup" design-a disposable cup with bendable, numbered tabs around the bottom to help people remember which cup is theirs-he said to Tang that if they went into production, City Hall would absolutely use them. Unfortunately, the paper cup manufacturers all said that "if it were just a simple printing adjustment that'd be easy enough, but being able to perforate the bottom of a cup means having to completely reconfigure the system, and that alone would cost millions. Without enough orders to cover the costs, it would be a tough ask."

Second place went to this pot-side clip, which can be clipped to the ladle to hook it over the side of a pot, meaning you can eat hot pot without worrying about the ladle slipping into the pot.

While Taiwanese business still has so much doubt over the potential opportunities in universal design, the concept has blossomed in Japan.

Satoshi Nakagawa, head of Tripod Design and known in Japan as the "father of universal design," once designed a pen that required no effort to write with for someone suffering from leukemia and whose hands and wrists were so weak they couldn't even write their own name without difficulty. Nakagawa conducted research into the hands and wrists of some two dozen people, carrying out experiments based on observations of people's various daily activities and particular physical traits.

"Design isn't about finding an average, it's about finding the point of greatest inclusivity," says Nakagawa. After carrying out surveys, analyses, designs, and tests, his team finally produced a pen in a penguin-shaped design, with a big, round handle, which they called "Handy Birdy." Not only did Handy Birdy take Japan's 1999 G-Mark Design Award, it also won a warm welcome from Japanese consumers.

The company has continued to challenge itself, designing a pen shaped like a small bird called "U-wing," which can be held in any of nine different ways, including in the mouth, between the toes, and wrapped around the thumb. This way, the pen can be used by people with all different kinds of writing habits and levels of hand or finger strength, and with its flowing lines, U-wing has been a huge success in Japan.

Over the past 13 years, Nakagawa has worked with companies as big as Toyota and Motorola, developing with them 250 products. Not all of them have caught on, and for those that didn't the reasons generally were high costs because of extensive studies, or consumers just not "getting" them and thus not buying them. Some products, however, have been astonishing successes, such as a carrying handle upon which items can be hung and carried-in just six months on the market it sold 300,000 units, far outpacing anyone's expectations. This has now been imported to Taiwan, with the local representative selling it for NT$300.

"Universal design should please the majority, not just a minority," emphasizes Nakagawa. It is because the products are useful that they become so popular. Thinking about people's spirits and trying to make their soul smile a little, that is what universal design is about.

This plate, called "Another Hand," is perfect for children just learning to use a spoon.

Can't bend down to sweep the dust up? This dustpan has a roller underneath, so you can trundle it along as you sweep.

The "U-wing" pen has been a hit universal design product, and can be held in the mouth, clutched between the toes, hung around the thumb, or any of six other different methods of use. Designed to accommodate the greatest number of people and enable everyone to use it in some way, this pen embodies the spirit of universal design.

Third place winner "Storage" uses a two-sided plastic latch to lock the end of ketchup packets, providing a lid on the top so it can be reopened and used again later. This way, you cut down on trash while also being able to continue using the sauce without getting it all over your hands.

Wherever he goes, Don Tang, tireless promoter of universal design, brings with him his own plate and spoon in a bag on the back of his wheelchair. This plate and spoon enable him to finish meals one handed without unnecessary effort.

Called "Rain Donut," this creative design offers a way to put on and take off rainwear one-handed, but it is still waiting for its technological issues to be solved.