Design Meets Disability
In this reading, the author argues that simplicity can be just as important as universality in design. While universal design aims to include every possible user, trying to add too many features can actually make a product harder to understand and use. The author emphasizes that cognitive accessibility, how easy something is to learn and navigate, is often overlooked because it is harder to measure than physical accessibility. By valuing simplicity over complexity, designers can sometimes create products that are more inclusive in practice, even if they do not meet every theoretical definition of universal design. The author also suggests that good designers learn to balance the ideal design brief with what will actually work best for users, sometimes choosing to remove features for a better overall experience.
I agree with the author’s argument that simplicity can be a powerful form of accessibility. In my experience, many products become confusing or overwhelming when they try to offer every possible option to every type of user. However, I also think that sometimes having more features can be beneficial for users. In many cases, a product with extra options feels like a better deal because it allows for more customization or more advanced use when needed. While simplicity is appealing, I don’t always want to sacrifice functionality for the sake of minimalism. I believe the best approach depends on the context: some products should stay simple, but others can genuinely improve the user experience, and even accessibility, by offering richer features as long as they remain intuitive to use.