DIS/ABLED DESIGN:

SLOW. RESPONSIVE. COLLABORATIVE. HUMAN.

Design is a channel for communication. Designing for Dis/abled users is really just designing to communicate in many possible ways. Individual modes of communication vary so widely, there is no way for any one person to dictate the best way to meet them all. I have adopted methods of slow, responsive, collaborative design, in which I co-create experiences with the individuals with the individuals who use them.

At a moment characterized by mass production, Dis/abled design asks us to take a slower, more methodical approach that centers human experience. Automated and generative tools may seem attractive at scale, but they cannot replace slow, reflective, human design practices.
“Responsive,” in a design context, usually refers to reformatting text based on a screen’s size and shape. This is one small, but important feature of a broader definition of responsive design, which reacts and enacts change based on the needs of the user. In cases of designing for Dis/abled people, this means determining the best design tools, strategies, and decisions for the individuals and disabilities at hand.
You cannot be responsive if you are not also collaborative. Where some designers feel the need to be an expert, and make every philosophical and arrangement decision, I see my role more as a co-creator in any project. Design is only as good as its ability to serve its target users. The best way to make sure it serves your needs, is to invite you into the design process and co-create a supportive experience.
Look, I work in a field that relies heavily and increasingly on generative AI content. If I didn’t engage and understand these tools, I would become irrelevant to my field, and unable to work at scale. With that in mind, my familiarity with AI tools only further cements my belief that only humans can design well for humans, and generative content is the enemy of creative voice. If AI is a part of your design process, I understand. You’re busy, you have deadlines, and these tools work quickly. But, between the energy and environmental consumption, the theft of creative works by generations of human designers, and what I believe is a fast-moving, collective loss of critical design and decision-making, I prefer designs made for human users, by human designers.

Graphic Design

reviewing a drupal site in axe dedv tool

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Graphic Design is not as difficult to make Accessible, or Dis/abled friendly as many designers think. Over-reliance on PDFs and static formatting can pose challenges, but leveraging meaningful marks, responsive formats, and “Universal” design principles can meet the needs of many Dis/abled users.

Learning Design

Dis/abled learning spaces take countless shapes, from “traditional” classrooms, to outdoor adventures, or captioned Zoom classrooms safely from home. There is no one-size-fits all solution for optimal learning conditions. My job, as an educator and Dis/abled advocate, is to be responsive to each student’s needs, and have as many tools at my disposal as possible.

“Alternate” formats and assistive technology are essential components to student support and should be available for all instructional methods and materials. I’ve worked with Alt Media and Assistive Tech for over a decade and have come to believe that all students benefit from the ability to choose their preferred format and modality when learning new materials, regardless of age or institution.
As an educator and advocate, I am committed to serving students by creating environments where they are truly supported, not just rhetorically, and empowere to utilizie audiobooks, captioned videos, text dictation tools, or whatever they deem works best for their particular set of abilities. As an author and designer, that makes my responsibility to work in flexible, responsive formats essential to their success.
Learning spaces should be as flexible and adaptive as any student may need. In my work with schools, I have designed and advocated for classrooms that are equipped to support Dis/abled students in any capacity. At Sonoma State University, I assisted in the development of outdoor classrooms that meet the hands-on pedagogical requirements of faculty, while maintaining physically accessible spaces, as well as reliable power and network resources to support assistive listening devices and real-time captioning services.
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