Is there design-for-all?

In 1891 master cutler Karl Elsener invented his first multifunction tool, the ‘‘Offiziermesser’’, a soldier’s knife designed to universally meet the needs of the soldier and woodsman. This officer’s knife was renamed by American GIs in 1945 to the more commonly known ‘‘Swiss Army Knife’’. Adopted by outdoor enthusiasts worldwide, its popularity has increased, as have the number of varieties and styles. The tool, which is designed-for-all your outdoor needs, and built so that one design is universally acceptable to all, now has over 100 combinations. One of the key ideas of making the World Wide Web (web) accessible to users with disabilities is this same idea of design-for-all, which so inspired Karl Elsener: a concept which proposes that every web page should be designed so that as many people as possible can access it, regardless of any sensory or cognitive impairments. However, design-for-all can mean many things to many people [3]. Some discuss design in terms of the society at large, by making reference to socioeconomics, ethics, and issues of general discrimination [6]. Others see design-for-all as a technological issue and a problem to be solved [1]. Still others link design-for-all to a way of thought that should encompass everyone [4]. In the context of computing and software development, many suggest that technology must focus on designing products so that they are usable by the widest range of people. Yet, in reality, every person is a unique individual and so this view cannot possibly be sustainable or achievable. To create universal usability by designing for all involves making generalizations about users, and it is these exact generalizations that have lead to so many users being excluded from the technological world in the first place. In practice, we suggest that universal usability is possible but not by using this design-for-all ethos, in point of fact we suggest that it is only possible by ‘‘design-for-one’’. Universal usability is not a lord-able idea or a sop for the few, it is a necessity for a significant percentage of the increasingly aging population, but more logical thinking about how to attain it is necessary. Universality suggests to most designers and engineers that the solutions they come up with must best fit most of the population most of the time. Many organizations follow the viewpoint that universal usability means design-for-all. The argument often follows thus: