EdOnline

DESCRIPTION: The design community has become increasingly focused on ensuring that the products and places they create suit the diverse needs and differing abilities of everyone. This course explores how universal design principles and products can inform design to create places that are safer, more comfortable, visually appealing, and usable and that provide a richer experience for all users. This exploration utilizes the examples of door hardware and the needs of a diverse group of users including senior citizens and others to explain some of these principles and provides a detailed examination of a universally designed door latch. OBJECTIVES: At the end of this program, participants will be able to: 1) utilize universal design principles when designing or modifying places and products, 2) prioritize those issues that should be addressed to enable safe and comfortable use by everyone in every place, 3) exceed basic accessibility requirements to improve the experiential quality for all users, and 4) identify and specify products that are designed using universal design principles.