Design Meets Disability
After reading this text, I found myself agreeing with the author’s argument on fashion and designing products for disabilities. I’ve always been curious about the process behind designs for products meant to support people with disabilities, such as prosthetics, hearing aids, and glasses. Although at the beginning fashion was described as a form of reducing the size and enhancing the aesthetic aspect of products such as glasses, my thoughts about the author’s argument changed. But as I read further, I realized that reducing the size and making a product “fashionable” is not just about making it pretty, but also satisfying the comfort of the client, and respecting their experience.
The text reinforced some ideas I already had, especially the belief that good design is often thoughtful for problem-solving. I connected strongly with Charles Eames’ idea that design is guided by constraints, because it reminded me that although sometimes there will be limitations, this is just a first step towards understanding what the client wants and needs. At the same time, the reading challenged me to think about other perspectives I thought about before, such as how making a design for disability discreet might unintentionally send a message that it should be hidden. Thus, it is important to always prioritize the comfort of the client, and take these different perspectives into consideration.
