48-Hour Inclusive Design Challenge
I was in action for the 48-Hour Inclusive Design Challenge over the weekends. Well, I had fun squeezing every ounce of my creative juice as each team is expected to present an inclusive design to a panel of judges.
The design challenge is held in conjunction of the M1 Fringe Festival, together with the British Council and DesignSingapore. Julia Cassim, an inclusive design expert from the Helen Hamlyn Research Centre, Royal College of Art is invited to organize the challenge as well as exhibit a video installation - a special commission of the Festival at Jendela, Singapore National Museum. It was really an honor to learn from her and of course, meeting Alvin Tan and Haresh Sharma from the Necessary Stage in person was a treat as well.
We dedicated 48 hours to the conceptualization of a lock design using patterns recognition rather then keys and numbers. It was really interesting and although we did not manage to win the challenge we got lots of great comments and feedbacks from the judges. It intrigues many on how the human mind is very much incline towards patterns. I remember reading a research paper on Bach's musical notes, they found that it was actually based on patterns.
Our design is inclusive esthetically. We went into patterns mainly because it works best for the visually impaired. We discovered that a lot of us remember numbers through patterns and with that we decided to embark on this fairly unknown territory.
Overall, the time spent was very much worth it. It was a unique experience and I particularly like the fact that we are only given a short period of time to come up with a design solution. It pushes everyone to the line and I felt, we responded well.
What is Inclusive Design?
Inclusive design is about accessibility: ensuring that environments, products, services and interfaces are created in such a way as to ensure as many people as possible can maximise their utility. Hence, issues such as ergonomics, design for disability, rehabilitative design and transgenerational design would be of direct interest and relevance.
We aim to change the mindset of people treating disabilities as definite inhibitions. Yet, functionality should not inhibit creativity, and therefore, inclusive design should also take into account the artistic element in its concept.
For more info on inclusive design and Julia Cassim, point your browser to the Helen Hamlyn Research Centre.
