Times have changed and immediate gratification is valued higher than long term planning. This is certainly one of the reasons universal design is slow in being widely adopted. Another is the reluctance to acknowledge our aging bodies. This is the denial of our becoming old, frail and helpless. Burr …...
Destination or Journey, Part II
In May 2008, I wrote the following: “One day, there will be the ultimate universal design handbook. It will have well conceived answers to every design quandary, each achieved cost effectively and with elegance. No. That would be as if universal design was a destination, a place we arrive at...
Born Again
Have you raised a child? I often wonder what I learned in school that was so great: geometry, endless history, exotic authors, extreme science? After years of school there was so much practical stuff that I didn’t know: how to cook, nutrition, conflict resolution, and child rearing. Simply bizarre, even...
Are Home Improvements UD?
A blog was written, The Best Return on Home Improvements. “Oooo!” I emphatically exclaimed, anxious to read about maximizing the value of my home. If you notice, I was hooked by an opportune distraction from my work. As I read the top 10 tips, I felt as if I was...
Assistive Technology & UD, Part I: What Is It
It’s expensive to have a disability. Why? Is it cheaper to design and build for the masses than it is to design for inclusivity? Or, are our designers and builders just ignorant and don’t know any better? Or, is it because we still think that people with disabilities are rare?...
Assistive Technology & UD, Part II: Physical
When an able-bodied person thinks about disability, it’s physical disability that comes to mind for most. A whole range of physical limitations blurs into a blue and white symbol of a person in a wheelchair, special parking spaces near entrances, and the odd cavernous feeling bathrooms. This oversimplification misses the...
Assistive Technology & UD, Part III: Hearing Loss
My grandfather, a Russian immigrant, had diminishing hearing as he aged. As a lover of gadgets and an early adopter of technology, he soon fitted himself with a modern (1960’s) electronic hearing aid. He had a microphone concealed as a tie pin, a gizmo in his pocket, and a loudspeaker...
Assistive Technology & UD, Part IV: Vision Loss
“Darn. Where did I leave my eyeglasses now?” This is a familiar cry for many people who use eyeglasses to help with certain tasks such as driving or reading. Eyeglasses are such a simple piece of assistive technology. So simple, we take them for granted. So simple, we even make...
Assistive Technology & UD, Part VI: Top-Ten List
How to do a top-ten list for assistive technology? First, I wanted the list to reflect a universal design focus. Next, I wanted the technology to be new and presently available; I considered not just a technology’s use but also its wider social impact (I know, I am missing some...
Tags: Apple, assistive technology, AT, Dragon, facebook, kaletsch, konrad, Konrad Kaletsch, Microsoft, phone, Skype, top-10, twitter, universal design
Bill Statements: Are They Getting More Confusing?
Today is a rant ‘n rave: bill statements. I’m talking credit card bills, mortgage statements, cell phone, utility bills … all of them! They get harder and harder to read. And, it’s not just me getting older. Account numbers, the ones you copy onto your check, used to be trouble...
Tags: account, bill, Chuck Schumer, design, invoice, kaletsch, konrad, Konrad Kaletsch, statement, universal design