Glossary

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Design Exclusion(also: Exclusion Audit, Technology Exclusion)

The process by which certain users are prevented from effectively using a product or service due to mismatches between the design of the technology and their abilities, circumstances, or available resources. Design exclusion can result from physical, sensory, or cognitive…

Design Informant(also: Informant Design)

A participatory design role in which users contribute to the design process by providing input, preferences, and feedback, but the researcher retains responsibility for interpreting this data and making design decisions. This approach contrasts with the Design Partner model…

Design Pattern(also: Interaction Pattern, Pattern of Assistive Interaction)

A reusable, generalised description of a solution to a commonly recurring design problem, expressed in a way that can be applied across different contexts without prescribing a specific implementation. In assistive technology design, interaction patterns describe the functional…

Design Sprint(also: Google Design Sprint)

A structured, time-constrained design methodology originally developed at Google Ventures that guides teams through five phases — Map, Sketch, Decide, Prototype, and Test — to rapidly solve design problems and validate ideas with real users. In accessibility contexts, design…

Design for Dynamic Diversity(also: D3, DDD)

A design paradigm proposed by Gregor, Newell, and Zajicek (2002) that explicitly accounts for the fact that human abilities are not static but change dynamically over time, particularly as people age. Unlike traditional approaches that design for a fixed "typical" user or treat…

Design for User Empowerment(also: DfUE, Empowerment-Oriented Design)

A design philosophy that prioritizes giving users — particularly people with disabilities — the skills, tools, and agency to create, modify, and customize their own technology solutions rather than being passive recipients of products designed for them. Design for User…

Design-for-One(also: Design for One, Bespoke Design)

A design philosophy where systems are tailored to individual users rather than attempting to accommodate all users through a single universal solution. In contrast to universal design which seeks one solution for everyone, design-for-one creates systems that adapt to specific…

Desire Paths(also: Desire lines)

A term from urban design describing the unofficial trails that pedestrians wear into grass or dirt when built sidewalks do not meet their needs - the visible trace of an infrastructure users have improvised for themselves. In accessibility design, the metaphor is used (e.g., by…

Disability Interaction(also: DIX)

A challenge-based approach and manifesto for creating a more inclusive world where disability can be an inspiration for innovation and creativity, and where inclusion is the norm. Proposed by Catherine Holloway and colleagues, Disability Interaction (DIX) places people with…

Disability-Related Embodied Empathy from Existing Media(also: DREEM)

A design pedagogy approach, introduced by Baltaxe-Admony et al., that does not translate specific aspects of disability theory into technology requirements but instead develops curricula that sensitise design students to disability cultures and to the lived experiences of…

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