Reflection on Principles and Practices Lecture

I really liked the idea of having a standard process that designers can use in order to reach an adequate solution to a problem. But it is important to consider that the process suggestion is not usable in all situations, and it is important to measure the usability of this process before using it. Another thing that I personally liked is how the article “Universal Design: Process, Principles and Applications” states how making a product accessible to people with disabilities often benefits others. This might be another motivation for designers to design a product in a way that would be simple and useful for everyone, without excluding anyone. One thing that I felt was missing from the Universal Design Principles is the cost. Cost plays a great role in the design principles, as designing something useful by everyone without excluding anyone is great, but we need to consider that everyone should be able to afford it in some sense. According to the UN, 85% of people with disabilities live in developed countries, and therefore are doubly disadvantaged by poverty and disability. This is not  something that should hinder the creativity or usability of a design, but still it needs to be considered as well.In this lecture, one of the things that caught my attention is that I started thinking that the ATM and many more machines are not made to be used for the blind, and why is that? The guy in the video clearly shows how difficult it was for him to put the headset inside the headset jack. Wouldn’t it be better if the designers of such ATMs added a tangible obvious object that can easily be found by the blind person in order to direct him or her where to put the plug? This person had an extreme difficulty in dealing with the ATM, and that’s just sad to be honest. As the interface that’s specified for the blind shouldn’t be complex and intricate, it should be direct and simple.

Regarding the Ramps video, I was quite surprised with the dangerous ramps that can be found everywhere. These can seriously cause a great damage to those who use their wheelchairs on them. It is very vital that architects, engineers and designers consider the needs of disabled people like a person on a wheel chair, as it’s not only about designing something that does the job, it’s goes far beyond that.

I don’t want to go off topic but reading this lecture made me think about my country, Jordan. Despite the fact that Jordan is considered as a leader among Arab countries for recognizing people with disabilities, what I notice there is that when it comes to disabled people, the major problem that exists in Jordan is how people view them, people view people with certain impairments not being able to study, work or do anything. And frankly, this is a major problem. For instance, Maha Barghouti, a 50 year old woman who won three medals in the wheelchair table tennis constantly hears the words “poor lady” when she uses her wheel chair outside.