ARE INCLUSIVE DESIGNERS DESIGNING INCLUSIVELY?

A large body of literature exists relating to Inclusive Design. The literature can be divided into theory concerning methodology and case studies concerning practice. With such a large body of theoretical literature available, the question arises as to how closely practice matches that theory. This paper is a survey of the methods used in the execution of self-declared inclusively design products based on an analysis of academic papers, posters and oral presentations. The case studies are divided into two groups, product design and assistive technology. Design steps were assigned to six categories of activity conforming to an authoritative design method. Analysis of the result showed that of the 66 cases, 4.5% reported carrying out all six categories of activity. 39.3% carried out or reported just one step. The study also found that the predominant focus of reported design activity is in the initial steps of user investigation but the subsequent activities receive less emphasis due to either under-reporting or non-completion. The work shows that design practitioners need to resist the tendency for user input to taper off as projects proceed.