Grade by Grade
A. Design Processes and Related Skills · Design Skills: From Idea to Tested Prototype

Designing for Real Users: Design Considerations and Accessibility

A1.3About 70 minutes
Learning goals
  • I can research the needs of a specific user or community before I design.
  • I can list and explain design considerations such as function, safety, cost, ergonomics, environment, culture and accessibility.
  • I can tell needs from wants and turn them into design requirements.
  • I can apply principles of universal design so a product or service works for as many people as possible.

Words to know

user
The person or group who will use the product or service; sometimes called the client or end user.
design consideration
A factor the designer must think about, such as user needs, safety, cost, accessibility, culture or the environment.
accessibility
How easily people with a wide range of abilities, including people with disabilities, can use a product, service or space.
universal design
Designing products and spaces so they can be used by as many people as possible without needing special changes.
barrier
Anything that stops a person from fully using a product, service or space, such as stairs, tiny print or video without captions.
need
Something the user must have for the design to succeed.
want
Something the user would like but could do without.
user profile
A summary of a real or typical user's situation, needs, wants and abilities, used to guide design.

Who is it for?

A famous saying among designers is: "You are not the user." A tablet stand that seems perfect to a 14-year-old might be useless for someone whose hands shake, who sees poorly, or who sits in a wheelchair at a different height.

In this lesson you will learn to research a specific user or community and turn what you learn into design considerations, with special attention to accessibility. Our running example is Amira, a Grade 9 student designing a tablet stand for her grandfather Sami, who has arthritis in his hands.

Design considerations

A design consideration is anything the designer must keep in mind. Common ones:

  • User needs and wants: what the user must have and would like to have.
  • Function: what the design must do.
  • Safety: for the user, the maker and anyone nearby.
  • Ergonomics: fit to the body, comfort, effort.
  • Accessibility: use by people with different abilities.
  • Cost and time: budget, labour and deadlines.
  • Aesthetics: look and feel that the user will like.
  • Environment and sustainability: materials, energy, waste, end of life.
  • Culture and community: values, traditions, languages and customs of the people who will use it.
  • Laws, codes and standards: for example building codes, food safety rules or electrical standards.

Researching the user

Good ways to learn about a specific user or community:

  1. Interview them. Ask open questions: "Tell me about the last time you used your tablet. What was hard?"
  2. Observe them doing the task (with permission). People often do things they never think to mention, like propping the tablet on a sugar bowl.
  3. Try it yourself under similar conditions, such as wearing thick winter mitts to feel what a weak grip is like. This gives you a hint, not the full experience, so always check with the real user.
  4. Ask experts and community organizations, for example an occupational therapist, a seniors' centre, or an organization led by people with disabilities.

Then write a user profile.

User profile: Sami, age 78Amira's grandfather. Lives in an apartment in Hamilton.Video-calls family every Sunday on a tablet.Needs (must have)• hands-free holding (arthritis in both hands)• angle changes without pinching or small knobs• screen near eye level when seated• does not tip or slide on the kitchen tableWants (nice to have)• matches his wooden table• folds flat to store• holds a cup of tea nearby
A user profile turns research about a real person into a list of needs and wants. Needs become criteria the design must meet; wants are extras if time and budget allow.

Accessibility and universal design

More than one in four Canadians aged 15 and over (27%, about 8 million people) reported having a disability in Statistics Canada's 2022 Canadian Survey on Disability. Disabilities can be physical, sensory (vision, hearing), cognitive, related to mental health, and more. Some are permanent, some are temporary (a broken wrist), and anyone can be in a situation that limits them (carrying a baby in one arm).

Ontario has a law, the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA), with standards that businesses and organizations must follow, for example for customer service and for websites. Designers use universal design: design that works for as many people as possible from the start. Seven well-known principles of universal design are:

  1. Equitable use: useful to people with diverse abilities.
  2. Flexibility in use: works for left- and right-handed people, different speeds and methods.
  3. Simple and intuitive: easy to understand without instructions.
  4. Perceptible information: information is shown in more than one way (text, symbols, sound, touch).
  5. Tolerance for error: mistakes are not dangerous and can be undone.
  6. Low physical effort: can be used comfortably with little force.
  7. Size and space for approach and use: reachable from sitting or standing.

A bonus: designs that remove barriers usually help everyone. Sidewalk curb ramps were made for people who use wheelchairs, but people with strollers, wagons, bikes and suitcases use them every day.

Round knob: grip and twistLever handle: push downneeds a tightgrip + wrist turnworks with an elbow,a fist or full hands
A classic universal design example. A lever handle can be opened by a person with arthritis, a person who uses a wheelchair, a child, or anyone carrying groceries. A round knob needs a strong grip and a twist.
Worked example

From research to design requirements

Use Sami's user profile to write design requirements for the tablet stand, and connect each one to a design consideration.

  1. Need: hands-free holding → requirement: the tablet rests in a slot or ledge; no clamp to squeeze. (accessibility, low physical effort)
  2. Need: change the angle without pinching → requirement: the angle changes by sliding the tablet to a different notch with the whole hand, no small knobs or screws. (ergonomics, universal design principle 6)
  3. Need: screen near eye level when seated → requirement: the centre of the screen is at least 15 cm above the table. (ergonomics; the 15 cm is a starting estimate Amira will check with Sami during testing)
  4. Need: stable → requirement: does not tip when the screen is tapped and does not slide; rubber feet. (safety, function)
  5. Want: matches his wooden table → nice-to-have: a wood or wood-look finish. (aesthetics)

Each need becomes a clear requirement linked to a design consideration. Wants are listed separately so they do not crowd out needs.

Worked example

Designing for a community

A community garden in a Thunder Bay neighbourhood wants new garden beds that more members can use, including older members and members who use wheelchairs or walkers. What should the designers research, and what might they design?

  1. Research the community: visit the garden, talk with members (including those who use mobility devices), ask the garden committee about budget and space, and check what crops grow well in a short northern season.
  2. Accessibility considerations: beds a person can reach from a seated position; firm, level paths wide enough for a wheelchair; tools with large handles; a water tap that is easy to turn.
  3. Possible designs: raised beds at a comfortable working height with open space underneath for knees, narrow enough to reach the middle from one side; wide, packed-gravel paths.
  4. Check back with users: build one prototype bed and ask members to try it before building the rest.

Designing for a community means listening to many people, not guessing. The specific heights and widths are decided with the users and checked against accessibility guidelines.

Hands-on activity

Walk in someone else's shoes (carefully)

You need: a pair of thick winter mitts or oven mitts, a notebook, and three everyday objects with different openings, for example a plastic jar with a twist lid, a zipper bag and a juice box with a straw. Do this with an adult nearby, and don't use anything sharp, hot or breakable.

  1. Put on the mitts. Try to open each item. Time each attempt.
  2. Rate each item from 1 (very hard) to 5 (very easy).
  3. Take the mitts off and repeat. Compare.
  4. For the hardest item, sketch a redesign using at least two universal design principles. Label which principles you used.
  5. Reflection: the mitts gave you only a small hint of what limited grip is like. Write one question you would ask a real person with arthritis before finalizing your redesign.

What to look for: ratings and times recorded for both trials, a clear sketch with labelled principles (for example a large pull-tab: low physical effort), and a respectful, open interview question.

Just for fun

Funny-but-true: the curb ramps that changed city sidewalks were pushed for by disability activists, and now they are loved by people pulling everything from strollers to suitcases to hockey bags. Designers even call it the curb-cut effect.

Your turn

1

What is the difference between a need and a want? Give an example of each for a school backpack.

2

Name four design considerations other than cost.

3

Why do designers say "You are not the user"?

4

Give two ways to research a specific user's needs.

5

What does the universal design principle "perceptible information" mean? Give an example.

6

Captions on a video were designed for Deaf and hard of hearing viewers. Name two other groups they help.

7

What does AODA stand for?

More practice: warm-up

1

What is accessibility?

2

Name one barrier in a building.

3

What is universal design?

4

What is a user profile?

5

Which handle is easier for someone with a weak grip: a round knob or a lever?

More practice: on your own

1

Rewrite this need as a measurable requirement: "The stand should be stable."

2

A restaurant menu uses light grey text on a white background in tiny print. Which universal design principle does it break, and how would you fix it?

3

Explain why a temporary disability (like a broken arm) is a good reason to use universal design.

4

Amira's tablet stand will be used by Sami, who wears bifocals. What design consideration does this add?

5

Give one cultural or community consideration for designing a kitchen in a community centre used by many different cultural groups.

Challenge

1

Choose one of the seven universal design principles and evaluate a product in your home against it. Suggest one improvement.

2

Write three open-ended interview questions you could ask a user before designing a lunch container for a student who uses one hand.

3

A designer adds a ramp to a building's entrance but puts it at the back next to the garbage bins. Explain why this does not fully meet the goal of universal design.

Check your understanding

Quiz

1.

Which is the best example of a need for a winter boot designed for a mail carrier?

2.

Which design follows universal design best?

3.

A website reads its text aloud and also shows it in large print. Which principle is this?

4.

What is the best first step when designing for a specific community?

5.

Which Ontario law sets accessibility standards for organizations?

6.

Curb ramps help people who use wheelchairs and also people with strollers and suitcases. This shows that...

For parents and teachers

Big idea: Expectation A1.3 asks students to investigate and describe design considerations, including accessibility requirements, for a specific user or community. This lesson introduces user research and universal design.

How to help at home:

  • If a family member or friend is willing, let your teen interview them about an everyday object that is hard to use. Real conversations make this lesson stick.
  • On a walk or shopping trip, look together for accessible features (ramps, automatic doors, tactile paving, Braille) and for barriers.

Respectful language: We use wording such as "people with disabilities" and "people who use wheelchairs." Some communities prefer other terms (for example, many Deaf people use "Deaf" with a capital D). The best rule: ask people how they describe themselves.

Common difficulties:

  • Vague requirements ("easy to use"). Help your teen add a measurement or test.
  • Treating a simulation as the full experience. Wearing mitts gives only a hint; the real user's voice matters most.

Safety: in the mitts activity, use only unbreakable items with no sharp edges or hot contents.