Universal Design and UD for Information
Universal Design (UD) refers to the creation of living environments
and products that are useful to a wide range of consumers. It also
refers to environments and products that have been created under UD
principles.
As UD has a place in many aspects of our daily lives, there are
professionals from diverse fields such as architecture, housing,
transportation, urban planning, goods manufacturing, and information who
are committed to working with UD.
At UDIT, we specialize in the research of Universal Design for
Information. Our goal is to collaborate with professionals within the IT
industry in realms of IT machinery and tools, web site creation,
broadcasting, and communications to bring to the world more
user-friendly IT products that are accessible by a versatile scope of
users. We strive to input the voices of IT beginners, the elderly and
persons with disabilities during the process of product planning and
development.
The Difference Between UD and Barrier Free
The Japanese society has undoubtedly been created based on the needs of
healthy adult males. The consequences have taken the shape of countless
obstacles for women and children, the elderly and individuals with
disabilities. "Barrier Free" is the attempt to reduce the number of
obstacles that obstruct each citizen's right to a more comfortable
living environment. This is an important movement that should be
continued. We must realize however that measures taken to recreate an
already existing place or object with barrier free features have been
costly, and not all of these specially made features for "barrier free"
causes have been appreciated by persons who require accessibility the
most. Universal Design demands for early consideration of facility and
product accessibility for a wide range of users before being created by
the government and industry.
Citizens who are concerned with this issue must voice their opinion in
early stages of product and urban planning. Not only are requests for
certain improvements required, it is important that we know the
processes in which products are made, and feel a responsibility towards
the created output. Universal Design will grow only with the cooperation
of a mature democratic society of citizens and consumer conscience.