In 2001 Alloy, BDG McColl, Imagination, Marketplace and SiebertHead competed for the Inclusive Design Award with projects ranging from packaging to product, workplace and environmental design. On 6 December an audience of 240 filled the Upper Gulbenkian Gallery
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of the Royal College of Art (RCA) to hear them present their visions of an inclusive future. Paul Priestman, Chairman of the DBA, presented the award to Imagination for their project, ‘Inspiration Park’.
Key speakers at the event included Lord Snowdon, Provost of the RCA, Dr Ken Poulter, Director of Small Business Services at the DTI and Julian Cobbledick of the British Healthcare Trades Association.
Imagination ‘inspiration park’
Imagination developed the concept of an all-weather park for everyone’s enjoyment and relaxation, including visually, cognitively and mobility impaired users, some of whom advised the Imagination team that parks can be demanding spaces difficult to navigate, full of danger and unforeseen threat.
How does it work?
The park has a transparent roof to cater for all weathers. This ensures rainwater is channelled into a central water feature. Entrances are wide and the area is easy to navigate, with tactile maps and an information point. Radiating from a central hub are four different areas: ‘Water’, including a waterfall, mist curtain and floating lake; ‘Art’, which includes bamboo wind chimes and textured walls and sculptures as well a performance space and seating areas; ‘Nature’, with scented wall climbers, colourful plants and hedges; and ‘Play’, which features roundabouts, a café, climbing rocks and a giant checkerboard with pressure-activated sound tiles.
‘This is the most important award we have won. The challenge of designing inclusively is often completely overlooked by clients and their designers. We all encounter some form of disability in our lives so it is essential we strive for solutions that are useful and desirable to all. The insights that emerged from the user group and the resulting ideas were a result of co-operative exchange of viewpoints from some very inspiring people’.
Adrian Caddy, Creative Director, Imagination
BDG McColl ‘mobospace’
BDG McColl developed a concept for a flexible community-based information/demonstration/training and social facility run by disabled people. This would be a portable and adaptable space that could grow and change with time and issue. In particular, it would address the serious issue of unemployment amongst disabled people. It would need to be easy to use and functional and provide the possibility of social interaction.
How does it work?
It’s a modular system with a core, central reception area, surrounded by five other areas – ‘Services’, ‘Library’, ‘Workspace’, ‘Social’ and ‘Training’. It’s created out of transportable flat-pack pods. The entrance has a ramp and automatic sliding doors. Doorways are highlighted and strong colours and textures are used to enhance different areas and surface junctions. There is a choice of interfaces including joysticks, voice recognition software and screen magnifiers. Keyboards are infrared to prevent cables restricting the space.
Marketplace ‘Re:mind’
Marketplace came up with the concept of a simple-to-use device that helps people remember essential things, organise their daily lives and maintain independence. Vitally, this would include those with short-term memory loss and those in the early stages of dementia. With help from the Oxford Dementia Centre, Marketplace tackled this issue head on. Re:mind is a pocket-sized memory jogger combining the features of an alarm, communicator and diary.
How does it work?
Re:mind combines pager and phone features and is voice activated. It includes an illuminated screen and an earpiece for messages. There are simple scroll-down menus and visual cues through symbols. It allows people to stay in touch or to be contacted as well as acting as as reminder about anything from a TV programme to taking medicine on time. By giving the user a sense of control, Re:mind would increase feelings of confidence and security.
SiebertHead ‘touch me, feel me, squeeze me’
SiebertHead created a concept for packaging for toiletries that would make grooming a pleasure, not a chore, for all users, including those with severe arthritis or mobility or visual limitations. The products would be easy to grip and avoid screw tops and materials that made products hard to grip when wet.
How does it work?
Closures on products are large in order to decrease the need to grip and squeeze, and prevent clogging. The shapes of the products would be intuitive and indicate the action required. Containers could stand on their heads to ensure the liquid flows freely. A combined pack and toothbrush was created where the brush sits on the container, acting as a crank to dispense contents form the twist closure. The brush turns this closure 45 degrees, opening up a channel that dispenses the paste with a light squeeze.
Alloy ‘kettlesense’
Alloy worked on radically rethinking the conventional kettle – a device that can be hazardous to those with impaired vision, poor grip or dexterity problems – to meet the needs of the broadest range of users. Alloy wanted to avoid the need to carry or pour boiling water and cables that would snag or were draped over a worktop, without developing a product that was expensive and therefore elitist.
How does it work?
Cold water is poured into a lightweight, two-handled plastic jug which is slotted into the Kettlesense tower. A leak-proof water connection is set into the base of the location ramp. The user pushes the jug into place and the connection is automatically made. The ramp ensures the teapot, mug or other receptacle is always in the right position. A valve lets the cold water flow out of the jug. The water is then lifted by an element and passes into an internal tank where it is boiled. When a fail-safe panel is pushed, the water is dispensed into the receptacle. All handles are easy to grip, water levels on the jug are indicated in braille as well as numbers and switches are large. Above all it is a stylish, low-cost and safe alternative to the standard electric kettle.
