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the helen hamlyn research centre: design for our future selves the royal college of art: postgraduate art and design

The Challenge Workshops

Innovating through Inclusive Design

College of Occupational Therapists, London, 18 January 2006

The Context

The one-day workshop was organised in collaboration with the College of Occupational Therapists (COT) - the 20,000 strong body for a profession which uniquely sees both sides of the story. Its aim was to bring together occupational therapists - the gatekeepers for rehabilitation aids and equipment - and the manufacturers who supply them in a sector not generally associated with excellence in design terms.

The Participants

Participants came from as far a field as France and Germany and were a mixture of occupational therapists, small businesses, designers, bureaucrats and users.

The Framework

Part 1

After presentations giving the business case for inclusive design, occupational therapists outlined the context of poor design in an area characterised by little R&D, low profit margins, a lack of creative service delivery, under-managed, under-sourced services and compliant users

Tony Rheinberg, Marketing Director of bathroom manufacturer Armitage Shanks introduced some inspiring case studies. He showed how they had applied inclusive design principles to create two show bathrooms using their existing product offer with the help of interior designer and former HHRC researcher Alison Wright and occupational therapist Kate Sheehan.

Their brief was to design bathrooms for two fictional clients with very different requirements, allowing for independent use without compromising style and affordability.

The first was Mary a pensioner with age-related arthritis in her hands and knees and the second 30-year-old Robert, an architect and wheelchair user who wanted a shower room that focused on his active lifestyle and appreciation of good design.

Mary got a toilet wall-mounted to her seated height, lever taps, thermostatic valves an easy-push flush and grab rails as well as inbuilt storage, non-slip flooring and good contrast integrated into a cool green interior that screamed style not age or disability.

In contrast Robert's luxury wet room with its slip-resistant, self-draining floor used robust materials inspired by yacht interiors. It had discreet support where needed and other safety features, all drawn from Armitage Shanks' mainstream product range.

Part 2

Then it was the audience’s turn - the slot after lunch saw five mixed teams working furiously to a strict deadline of one-and-a-half hours to come up with an inclusive product solution to the design problem set by the disabled consumer on their team. Assisting them were ‘visualisers’ - Helen Hamlyn Research Associates past and present who helped the team evolve their ideas in visual form and come up with a proposal for a final prototype.

The Results

The ideas presented by the teams ranged from the ‘Loomerang’ - a portable, inflatable toilet seat, to the winning design from a team led by Mark Champkins and Reg Webb, a blind musician who struggles to open CDs. Their idea for reconfigured packaging ticked all the boxes with the judges and the afternoon ended with discussion and a promise that this was the start of a great new way of learning about inclusive design.

What they Said:

  • fantastic, great opportunity to think outside the box and get my creative thoughts working
  • this was an excellent, mind-broadening and enthusiastic day
  • the group exercise was fab - just so good to get a mixture of people together and find out what is possible.