Universal Design: The 8th Principle, Part II

In last week’s post, Universal Design: The 8th Principle, Part I, I departed from the more frequent discussions about how we physically “fit” in our environments and looked at the emotional landscape we have as a result of being perceived and judged as fitting in or not. Here is Part II:

Judgments form the foundation of our daily decision making, and are informed and adjusted by the present situation. Driving a car is a useful example: you learn the skills needed to drive, yet every road is different and requires immediate judgments for the situation at hand. Judgments are also received without question by us from our parents and the cultures we live in. One example is height.

Our judgments of height subtly tell us that tall is better, tall is more powerful, and tall is more authoritative. Shorter political candidates struggle with this perception and constantly seek adaptations to equalize the influence of height over voter perception. Herein lies the essence of an eighth principle, can we build in a way that reduces or eliminates those judgments? Can our environments and products allow us to appear more equal to others, reducing or eliminating biased perceptions, than the way we presently design them?

In December, 2008 President elect Barak Obama announced members chosen to be on his green team. I watched the press conference and saw something unusual as a result of a rare camera angle. When it was Nancy Sutley’s turn at the podium, the camera shot switched from the rear of the room to the side of the stage. Ms. Sutley is quite short. I watched as President Elect Obama moved forward and using his foot, nudged a stepping stool into position for her. The gesture was personal; they shared a glance that was endearing and which acknowledged the caring forethought. Seen from the camera at the back of the room, one saw nothing other than one person turning over the podium to another.

With these extra inches to stand on, she presented her speech in no way marginalized by her shorter physical stature. Without these extra inches, she would barely peer over the podium, or, would have stood to its side, an action that would have unfairly singled her out from the other speakers and induced judgments base solely on physical stature.

By recognizing that it is in our nature to be judgmental and that environment influences the judgments we make at every moment, I assert that in addition to the seven principles that equalize the mechanics of a physical environment, we can add a principle that calls attention to the emotional ones.

Here would be principle eight:

8. Principle Eight: Perception of Equality –
The design minimizes the possibility of an
individual being perceived as unequal.



Konrad Kaletsch, CAPS
March 29, 2009
Universal Design Resource
Universal Design Network at Facebook and LinkedIn
Take the 10-question survey!

Universal Design: Obama And Sultey

In our nation, there is much relief and hope with the coming Obama administration. I like seeing him speak, I look forward to his words, and I am excited about his choices. He seems personable and genuinely caring.

On December 10 he announced members chosen to be on his green team. I watched the press conference and saw something unusual as a result of a rare camera angle. When it was Nancy Sutley’s turn at the podium the camera shot switched from the rear of the room to the side of the stage. I watched as President Elect Obama moved forward and using his foot, pushed a stepping stool into position for her. The gesture was personal; they shared a glance that was endearing and which acknowledged and appreciated the caring and the forethought. Seen from the back of the room, as in most network coverage, one saw little more than an odd smile.

With these extra inches to stand on, she presented her speech in no way marginalized by her shorter physical stature. Without these extra inches, she would barely peer over the podium, or, would have stood to its side, an action that would have unfairly singled her out from the other speakers.

I myself am very tall. This is seen in our culture as an asset. Politicians sometimes win and loose an election based on having added height. Short is never an advantage. In universal design, short or tall is affects usability, however, as seen in this example, one appreciates a different focus: height impacts perceptions of capability, tall is better, bolder and more powerful. This adaptation in the press conference leveled the playing field and gave us the opportunity see the people more clearly for their achievements and ambitions, not a physical attribute.

The application of universal design is ever evolving. In this example, a one-size-fits-all approach to design, the podium, heightens our perception of differences. A person can be marginalized not only by an environmental barrier to performing a given task but by how they are perceived in a given environment. Environment can enhance our perception of a person or diminish it (think Alice In Wonderland). Environments that strive to support equal perception of the people who function in them would be yet another evolution of universal design.


Konrad Kaletsch
Universal Design Resource
December 19, 2008