Reading about the intersection between design and disability really got me thinking about many facets of design that I often ignore in my day to day life as an able-bodied person. For example, when I purchase makeup, let’s say, a face cream, I see what the lid or container looks like and whether it looks easy to pack, carry, and open (while also being hygienic). However, recently I saw a video about how a rare beauty blush lid was disability friendly since it had a circular grip that made opening it much easier.
Similarly, in the reading they talk about something called trickle-down effect where designs are expected to eventually find its way to disabled people in a way that is accesible to them. It then mentions that the splint medical device to chair furniture pipeline challenges this idea. Usually we think innovation flows from mainstream products down to specialized disability products — like how smartphone tech might eventually make its way into accessible devices years later, but usually as watered-down technological versions. Although I understand that this is also a matter of making profit, it seems to me from the reading that this is actually a missed opportunity since looking at things from a different angle can also birth innovation for the masses in unexpected ways.
This makes me wonder about whether we approach software design in a very constrained way. For instance, we’re often taught to build for the “average users” first, then maybe add accessibility features later if we have time (which let’s be honest, most student projects never get to). But what if we started with accessible design principles from the beginning? Would we end up with more innovative solutions that actually work better for everyone? This is the question I was left with, that I still don’t have an answer to.