What is Universal Design

“The design of products and environments to be usable by all people, to the greatest extent possible, without the need for adaptation or specialized design.” (Mace, n. d., p. 1)

A design and development approach to ensure accessibility to all, regardless of differences.

Concept for designing and delivering products and services usable by people with the widest possible range of functional capabilities (including people with various deficits).

An approach to design that incorporates principles and products that are accessible to and usable by everyone, including persons with a variety of disabilities.

The process of creating products (devices, environments, systems, and processes) which are usable by people with the widest possible range of abilities, operating within the widest possible range of situations (environments, conditions, and circumstances), as is commercially practical

Is the design and composition of a barrier-free environment so that it can be used by all people regardless of their age, physical limitations and disabilities, in the most independent, usual and natural design possible.

A concept similar to accessible design. Its meaning is broader in that it refers to design that strives to create products that are usable by all people, regardless of age, gender, (dis)ability, handedness, etc. Its meaning is narrower in that it seeks one solution to accommodate the needs of all people.

A concept or philosophy for designing and delivering products and services that are usable by people with the widest possible range of functional capabilities.

A design that is accessible for populations across all spectrums of society including individuals with disabilities, non-disabled persons, the elderly, or anyone with any type of limitation.

An approach to building inclusive physical spaces and safe psychological cultures by structuring environments so that all people have equitable access to the resources they need to thrive. This concept is meant to improve quality of life across the board instead of providing case-by-case accommodations for people with disabilities.

Designing programs, services, tools, and facilities so that they are usable, without additional modification, by the widest range of users possible, taking into account a variety of abilities and disabilities.

Carefully designed lessons that provide flexible presentation of materials, interactions with the information, and engagement with the content.

Concept for designing and delivering products and services usable by people with the widest possible range of functional capabilities (including people with various deficits).

A framework for instruction that anticipates and addresses the needs of a variety of learners, including students with disabilities.

A universal design concerns with making the Web contents and functionalities accessible and usable. The ultimate goal of a universal design enables all people regardless of their abilities to succeed using information technology and communication in their tasks.

A method of design for physical objects and environments that centers the end user in the design process in an attempt to create products or engineer environments that are accessible to the widest possible audience.

An approach to designing Web content where the intent is to provide access to the broadest range of clients, regardless of individual abilities, disabilities, circumstances, or environments.

The development of products and environments to be usable by all people.

An approach to the design of products and environments fostering usability by as many people as possible, without adaptation.

Environmental design that promotes greater accessibility for all individuals by proactively accounting for and removing potential barriers to learning and access.

or “Design for All”: “the design of products and environments to be usable by all people, to the greatest extent possible, without the need for adaptation or specialized design” (Center for Universal Design, 1994).

The process of creating products (devices, environments, systems, and processes), which are usable by people with the widest possible range of abilities, opera ting within the widest possible range of situations (environments, conditions, and circumstances). Universal design has two major components, first, designing products so they are flexible enough that they can be directly used (without requiring any assistive technologies or modifications) by people with the widest range of abilities and circumstances as is commercially practical given current materials, technologies, and knowledge and, second, designing products so they are compatible with the assistive technologies that might be used by those who cannot efficiently access and use the products directly (Trace Center, 1996)

Design of an environment that is user-friendly to a diverse population.

It constitutes a paradigm of design and a philosophical conception aimed at achieving accessibility in environments, spaces, services, goods, objects and devices, so that they can be used by the greatest number of people without the need to adapt or specialize to determined population sectors.

A broad-spectrum solution that produces buildings, products and environments that are usable and effective for everyone, not just people with disabilities.

Universal design is a term that describes designing to meet everyone’s needs. A popular and frequently used example of universal design is curb cuts”. Curb cuts are the places in sidewalks (driveways and intersections) where the sidewalk is angled to meet the street. These curb cuts were originally designed to make sidewalks more accessible to people using wheelchairs but they also help people pushing strollers, children riding bicycles, people dragging luggage or wheeled backpacks, and runners. Another example from everyday live is levered door handles. These handles are helpful to people with limited mobility and range of motion but they also are helpful for people who have their hands full with books, groceries, or are carrying small children. In learning, universally designed instruction is designed with all students in mind. Faculty may caption video for deaf or hard of hearing students but those captions help second language learners and students who are stronger visual learners as well.

A design that is accessible for populations across all spectrums of society including individuals with disabilities, non-disabled persons, the elderly, or anyone with any type of limitation.

It is the design of products and environments to be usable by all people, to the greatest extent possible, without the need for adaptation or specialized design.

Design of products and environments for use by all people, to the greatest extent possible, without the need for adaptation or specialized design.

Principles of design that seek that any product be created for the use of all people, regardless of the conditions it presents, in such a way that redesign is not required to adapt its use to any particular group of users.

Designing resources and activities that can be accessed and used by all individuals.

“A process of creating products (devices, environments, systems, and processes) which are usable by people with the widest possible range of abilities, operating within the widest possible range of situations (environments, conditions, and circumstances), as is commercially practical” ( Vanderheiden & Tobias, 2000 ).

An approach to general design to be as inclusive of people (of all capabilities) as possible, based on seven principles (equitable use, flexibility in use, simple and intuitive use, perceptible information, tolerance for error, low physical effort, and size and space for approach and use).

A set of principles guiding the design of physical spaces, products, and environments to be accessible to all people, regardless of age, disability, or other factors.

Designing products, programs, services, and the built and designed environment in such a way that they are accessible to all people to the greatest extent possible, without the need for adaptation or special design.

The concept of universal design is to design of products to be usable by all people, to the greatest extent possible, without the need for adaptation or specialized design. It considers a variety of characteristics such as people with differences in abilities, gender, age, socio economic status, etc. (NCSU, 2008)