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Medin, Malin Brekke; Skjelbred, Bente

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This article discusses how the theory of learning based on landscapes of practice can be used in universal design. Universal design is the development of products and environments in such a way that they can be used, as far as possible, by all people without customisation or assistance. To secure accessibility, standards and regulation have been developed for how environments and products should be produced. However, these standards are often just minimum requirements, accessibility for a wheelchair user is not the same as accessibility for a blind person. If you only follow the standards,accessibility is limited. Regarding not only professionals but also different groups of users as part of the landscape of practice can create increased accessibility. To exemplify this point, this article focuses on the case of blind people’s relation to cooking food. It argues that the studies carried out can be implemented for other themes and user groups, and that introducing interdisciplinary practices of working in design education can lead to students developing products and environments that are more accessible. The methods used for this article include in-depth interviews with three people who have experienced sight loss on how they experience cooking, as well an interview with a person who provides visual rehabilitation courses. An experiment involving removing vision while working in the kitchen was also carried out. The findings help us to understand what kinds of difficulties can occur, what people need and how learning from the landscape of practice can contribute to creating universal design.

Keywords:

Universal Design, Landscape Of Practice, Diversity, Visually Impaired, Cooking