India where there is excess of everything, a mind set of living in the present future, indifferent behaviors, and uncomplaining adaptability to populous man made environment, thinking universal design is complex.
So what are the collective and universal pain areas of India and its people which affect considerably and look for solutions by design?
Variance in literacy, multiple languages, migration from rural to urban, health & hygiene conditions, gender issues, global cultural influences, technology penetration & spread, congested environments, 25 million differently able, etc
If one drills further into these areas we would come up with universal design need/problem statements to address and solve. This would have a wider impact on larger audience that uses and interacts with day to day objects and environs The key factors Universal Design looks at are motor, sensory and cognitive abilities with respect to usability of objects and systems across demography for a comfortable quality life. Also by approach, in an Indian arena Universal Design could eventually discipline behaviors of the able for better quality of being for the differently able.
There would be two parts to the approach and practice of Universal design.
One, the lifespan study which covers all the aspects of human growth and circumstantial variances in the man made environment from childhood to youth, middle and old age of both genders, the diversity of co existing people in the aspects of culture, social economic status, literacy, etc and two, the differently able, their engagement with the man made world.
Address the aspects of the lifespan a linear structure that would uncover core problem areas. Once identified, considering the diversity of the user set in a phase of the lifespan, one could formulate the problem statement and design. The second entity which is the more caring one needs assistive technological intervention with affordability being one of the major factor. With this understanding design for diversity through a life span of the user set would be one part and assistive design for the differently able would be another part.
