ABSTRACT
Universal design (UD) practices are gaining importance in product design. Because there have been no established universal design methods, designers often tend to use their own experiences and intuition in extracting problems and creating new universal designs. In view of these situations, the Ergo-Design Technical Group of the Japan Ergonomics Society (EDTG/JES) organized a working group for proposing integrated UD methods that could be used by designers. This working group developed new practical UD guidelines together with the members of EDTG/JES and collaborators, including ergonomics experts in universities and relevant industrial designers working in the private sectors. The working group utilized various opportunities to discuss UD needs such as the annual conferences of the Society and its Kantoh District (Tokyo area) chapter, as well as regular and special seminars organized by the Ergo-Design Technical Group. The working group, thus, examined the proposals of the members for practical UD guidelines. This chapter describes the new guidelines, including the basic design principles and the detailed methods for accomplishing new designs that meet the requirements of the proposed guidelines. These propose ready-to-use procedures in implementing a logical and systematic design approach for universal design. They provide practical guidance for designers and others who are looking for practical design tools.
