DESIGN AND HUMAN DISABILITY AND AGING

Prerequisites & course information

Requisites: Junior standing or member of Engineering Guest Students Course Designation: Grad 50% - Counts toward 50% graduate coursework requirement Repeatable for Credit: No Last Taught: Spring 2025 Learning Outcomes: 1. Explain the access and usability issues that users with physical, sensory, or cognitive impairments due to age or permanent or temporary disability might experience when interacting with everyday products and environmental designs Audience: Both Grad & Undergrad 2. Apply human factors principles of universal design to describe redesign solutions for common products and environmental designs to improve accessibility for all users Audience: Both Grad & Undergrad 3. Identify barriers to access for users based on specific disabilities Audience: Both Grad & Undergrad 4. Articulate common misconceptions and biases related to users with disabilities and use various data sources to discuss the reality of designing for users with disabilities or impairments Audience: Both Grad & Undergrad 5. Identify usability issues for mass-market products and environmental designs using universal design and basic access principles Audience: Both Grad & Undergrad 6. Propose methods for improving accessibility and usability using universal design and basic access principles Audience: Both Grad & Undergrad 7. Articulate how social, institutional, and organizational structures and insufficiently designed systems and environments disadvantage various user groups, with special focus on aging and disabled users Audience: Graduate Learning Outcomes: 1. Explain the access and usability issues that users with physical, sensory, or cognitive impairments due to age or permanent or temporary disability might experience when interacting with everyday products and environmental designs Audience: Both Grad & Undergrad 2. Apply human factors principles of universal design to describe redesign solutions for common products and environmental designs to improve accessibility for all users Audience: Both Grad & Undergrad 3. Identify barriers to access for users based on specific disabilities Audience: Both Grad & Undergrad 4. Articulate common misconceptions and biases related to users with disabilities and use various data sources to discuss the reality of designing for users with disabilities or impairments Audience: Both Grad & Undergrad 5. Identify usability issues for mass-market products and environmental designs using universal design and basic access principles Audience: Both Grad & Undergrad 6. Propose methods for improving accessibility and usability using universal design and basic access principles Audience: Both Grad & Undergrad 7. Articulate how social, institutional, and organizational structures and insufficiently designed systems and environments disadvantage various user groups, with special focus on aging and disabled users Audience: Graduate