Toolkit for awareness in universal design

In an attempt to make universal design an integral part of industrial design in general, an experiment was implemented early during the industrial design education. The aim of the experiment was to increase the awareness of the students regarding the fact that products may at the same time be attractive and well-functioning for a broad range of users. Five categories of everyday products were included in the experiment, objects in each category covering the range from stylish or sporty to products designed especially for disabled persons. Twenty-five students took part in the experiment in five groups. They tried the objects in true use situations and were asked to, in consensus, evaluate and comment on three mainly emotional and three mainly functional qualities. After testing, they analysed, presented and reflected around their results. Finally they were asked to group all objects in any kind of families. The presentations by the students demonstrated that very lively discussions had taken place about product qualities. The evaluation method provided rich information about young persons’ experiences of qualities in products. At the final grouping of products, the students chose to present objects as being related to different target users. One interesting finding was that the product family aiming at a very average user included an angled kitchen knife, product of a kind previously regarded a typical aid for disabled