Inclusive Design in Practice: Working with Industry
Jeremy Myerson, The Helen Hamlyn Research Centre, Royal College of Art, UK
Rama Gheerawo, The Helen Hamlyn Research Centre, Royal College of Art, UK
Scope and Rationale
This paper discusses the Helen Hamlyn Research Associates Programme where new Royal College of Art (RCA) graduates collaborate with industry and voluntary sector partners on year-long design research projects.
Each project addresses an area of interest for the partner organisation, where an inclusive design approach can be practically implemented within a 'real world' business context. The paper demonstrates methodology and outcomes through two case studies that focus on issues of inclusivity and sustainability. It will be of interest to design practitioners, educators, students and decision makers and also to business decision makers, innovators or anyone involved in commissioning design.
Background
Inclusive design is increasingly recognised by the UK government as a potentially important driver of change; it is described as 'a process whereby designers ensure that their products and services address the needs of the widest possible audience' (UK Department of Trade and Industry, 2000).
There is also growing recognition in industry itself that design that ignores the needs of the wider user base can have serious repercussions on profitability. For example, older people hold 60% of the wealth in the UK yet receive only 5% of targeted marketing focus. The purchasing power of people with disabilities in the UK is estimated at £40-50 billion. These two groups alone represent substantial missed opportunities for UK businesses. Designing in a manner that includes the needs of marginalised users can significantly increase corporate competitiveness and value.
The Research Associates Programme works by taking new RCA graduates from a range of design disciplines and partnering them with an industry organisation. Basing them within the RCA design studios allows them to tap into the creativity of the RCA whilst developing user-centred design skills through the Helen Hamlyn Research Centre network. By maintaining close contact with the research partners, the industry relationships grow as innovative design research partnerships rather than goal-directed, problem solving design consultancy.
Collaborators
Between 1999 and 2004 the Centre has worked with more than 50 companies from the corporate and voluntary sectors. These include:
- large multinationals including Levi Strauss, Philips and Ford
- architecture and design firms including IDEO, Geoffrey Reid Architects and Pearson Matthews
- technology firms including Hewlett-Packard and mobile network company Orange
- charities including the Laura Ashley Foundation and the British Heart Foundation
Case Study 1: B&Q Power Tools
B&Q is Europe's largest home improvement retailer with more than 300 stores and over 28,00 staff. Established for more than 30 years, the company takes a proactive approach to environmental, ethical and diversity issues in relation to its products, people and procurement policies. In particular it has pioneered employment opportunities for the over-50s and looked at new ways to make its stores more disability-friendly.
B&Q's commitment to developing its diversity policy is framed in its corporate vision statement: "We want to be a great company that can be trusted to respect the quality of life of all the people and communities we touch." The Christmas 2002 launch of two own-label products in the B&Q power tools range, which include the needs of older users and those with reduced grip, reflects this commitment.
The idea behind the market introduction of age-friendly power tools stems from a drive by B&Q to move its brand image forward from one offering good value for money to one synonymous with innovation and ease of use. B&Q looked for suitable innovation partners to help research and develop new own-label products and chose to work with the Helen Hamlyn Research Associates Programme at the Royal College of Art.
B&Q and researchers at the Helen Hamlyn Research Centre studied data from the Henley Centre for Social Forecasting. This revealed that spending on DIY equipment rose on retirement when people saw they had time and money to carry out home improvement tasks but then fell away dramatically when they realised how difficult the tools were to use.
Could study of older people struggling to carry out basic tasks with power tools provide the trigger for product innovation that would benefit everyone? That was the driving question behind B&Q's collaboration with the RCA. The chosen B&Q Research Associate was Matthew White, a graduate of Industrial Design Engineering, the RCA's joint course with Imperial College. White's engineering background and evident interest in inclusive design was deemed ideal for the project.
Action Research
Matthew White first consulted with B&Q to set the project within the company's vision. He conducted interviews with customers and staff at B&Q stores and undertook an extensive product audit, supported by desk research and evaluation of competitor products. User research was essential to the project, running across three different timescales (see Figure 1 below).
Long-term user testing lasting up to eight months allowed detailed evaluation of existing tools and key issues to be written into the design process. Nine users were selected and given a range of tools and tasks in order to evaluate, confirm and reject ideas.
Medium-range user testing comprised asking a range of users to perform specific DIY tasks with various tools, then informally discuss the process and give feedback on test concepts and prototypes.
Short-term focus groups of five older people, lasting about two hours, were conducted during the most intense concept creation stage. Simple product feedback and hands-on prototype evaluation were measured both quantitatively and qualitatively.
Figure 1: Users testing power tools.
[Figure 1 Description]
Four design concepts emerged form the study. The cordless screwdriver is one of the most popular power tools yet current tools are long, unwieldy and difficult to grip and activate. A redesign made the shape easier to fit into the palm of the hand and the screwdriver is automatically activated as soon as the screw bit pushed into the screw.
Cordless drills are heavy to use due to the battery weight. By attaching the battery via belt clip to the waist and connecting it to the drill with a short power cord, the freedom of cordless drills could be kept whilst relieving battery weight.
The reciprocating jigsaw has become a best selling product but little attention has been paid to the ergonomics of holding the saw whilst applying force. By changing the angle of application and totally redesigning the handle and battery case, a unique and new type of power saw was created.
The final concept looked at the popular palm-sized sander which is generally uncomfortable to hold, as the user is expected to press and hold it against a surface whilst it vibrates gently to re-create a sanding motion. The prototype was redesigned to fit the 'cup' of the hand whilst a hand strap removes the need to firmly grip it.
Results
The study showed that correctly incorporating user feedback into the design process can create a better product. And when those users have special needs such as reduced dexterity or arthritis, addressing their needs in a mainstream product design brief can provide innovative triggers as well. A power tool that is designed to be easier to hold will be easier to hold for everyone who uses it - not just retired people.
B&Q patented and evaluated the prototypes - and chose two to take to market, the cordless screwdriver and the palm-sized sander. In October 2001, at the end of his Helen Hamlyn research year, Matthew White was employed directly by B&Q as a design consultant. He then spent the next 12 months making his designs production-ready by refining components and producing engineering drawings.
In November 2002, the pebble-shaped screwdriver (named Gofer and retailing at £19.98) and ergonomically-improved sander (Sandbug, retailing at £29.98) were unveiled to the UK press, fittingly in the galleries of the Royal College of Art (see Figure 2 below). They were on the shelves in B&Q stores in time for Christmas.
Figure 2: Sandbug and Gofer concepts developed for market.
[Figure 2 Description]
Both products were manufactured in China and attractively packaged by B&Q's brand agency BIGidea. There were healthy sales for each line, reflecting consumer support for B&Q's drive to make its own-label products more user-friendly. B&Q does not advertise either the Sandbug or Gofer product as designed with older people in mind. Its consumer offer is truly inclusive. But the company says that the Research Associate collaboration with the RCA opened up a new innovation path and it commissioned a second Helen Hamlyn project in the area of garden power tools, using the design needs of the older gardener as a trigger for ideas.
Case Study 2: Optare Community Service Vehicle
Optare, the Yorkshire-based bus and coach manufacturer which is part of North American Bus Industries, collaborated with the Helen Hamlyn Research Centre to explore how its newest vehicle could be adapted to address the problems of rural and inner city social exclusion.
Despite a raft of social inclusion policies by the Government and local authorities, many of the UK's most deprived communities - both rural and urban - remain geographically isolated in terms of services.
At least three-quarters of Britain's 17,000 small rural villages have no daily bus service, village shop or school-age childcare facilities. They are excluded in terms of transport and services - and many inner-city estates and districts are similarly deprived.
Forty per cent of the UK population now lives in the 88 most deprived local authority areas, against a backdrop of vanishing local economic outlets. Between 1995 and 2000 Britain lost 20 per cent of its vital community institutions, such as corner shops, grocers, high street banks, post offices and pubs - 30,000 outlets in total. By 2005, a further 28,000 stand to be lost. Many opportunities exist for mobile services to reach local people in isolated communities. But these opportunities are missed because of the lack of a suitable delivery vehicle that is versatile, fully accessible and visually appealing to the public.
Owen Evans, a 2002 RCA graduate in Industrial Design Engineering, spent a year working with Optare on the concept of an all-purpose service delivery vehicle for excluded communities as a Research associate in the RCA's Vehicle Design Department. The project explored how a new Optare model - the Alero, a 16-seater low-floor vehicle that is an exemplar of passenger accessibility - could be adapted to address the problems of rural and inner city social exclusion.
Action Research
The project began with an analysis of the Alero's capabilities in relation to leisure, corporate, health and local authority markets. It investigated existing mobile services and future community needs. Gradually a picture emerged of a vehicle with display, desking and storage facilities within a reconfigurable interior that would be capable of providing the widest range of mobile services. Health education, youth outreach work, retail services, IT training, library and literacy services, citizens advice, and police and fire service liaison were among those services identified as community priorities (see Figure 3 below).
Figure 3: Two different vehicle interior configurations.
[Figure 3 Description]
A series of interior layouts were tested and validated by a group of older and mobility-impaired people, using a full-size mock-up in the Vehicle Design Studio at the RCA. Key findings were then fed back into the design process to shape the development of the vehicle package.
Results
The resulting design was given the name the Alero CSV (Community Service Vehicle) and it has a number of elements designed to give the vehicle maximum versatility (see Figure 4 below).
Figure 4: The Optare Alero CSV.
[Figure 4 Description]
Roof-mounted awnings create the ability to 'host' events in a welcoming, open space in front of the vehicle. A dedicated trailer is included as an option to increase workspace or storage capacity, based on a standard Alero body shell. Roof-mounted air conditioning can be added for extended working periods in hot weather.
Inside the vehicle, an electric generator has been packaged at the rear to provide power for onboard systems. Above this is a storage space that is accessible from the vehicle interior. Two removable tables provide workspace in the rear section, which can also serve as a private meeting room with the addition of a dividing wall. In the centre section, fixing rails provide the means to secure a number of movable elements - small and large desks, seating, storage units, bookshelves, entertainment and catering equipment.
Capabilities of the Optare Alero CSV were demonstrated using virtual modelling techniques as Optare set about signing up potential customers and project funders. The company acknowledged that the project had helped Optare to innovate in terms of a new service proposition and reposition itself as a brand in the eyes of local authorities and social service providers.
Current Status of the Programme
The Research Associates Programme operates on an annual basis, running from October to October. Each year ends with a symposium and exhibition launch event for research partners and collaborators. Around 300 people attend the symposium, and there are more than 1000 visitors to the exhibition. As well as realising the design concepts and exemplars for the research partner, each Research Associate produces an extensive report describing and cataloguing the research process and project results.
Companies that have invested in the programme - such as B&Q or Optare, described here - have found it to be useful as a route to innovation, to enhancing consumer experience, to gaining insightful knowledge transfer and increasing business opportunity.
Text Descriptions of Figures
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Users testing power tools
The image shows an older man testing a prototype for the hand held palm sander. The 'pebble' shape of the sander fits the man's hand and a strap removes the need for him to grip it.
[Return to Figure 1] -
Sandbug and Gofer concepts developed for market
The image shows the two product concepts, an electric screwdriver and hand palm sander developed for market by B&Q. A redesign made the shape of both easier to fit into the palm of the hand. The screwdriver is automatically activated as soon as the screw bit pushed into the screw and the sander has a strap that removes the need to firmly grip it.
[Return to Figure 2] -
Two different vehicle interior configurations
The image shows two different configurations for the interior of the Optare Alero CSV. The first contains floor to ceiling shelving and is outfitted as a mobile library. The second is set up as an IT training facility with space for seven laptops and seats. A large plasma screen is placed at the back end of the interior and 'aircraft style' overhead luggage bins are shown.
[Return to Figure 3] -
The Optare Alero CSV
The image shows the Optare Alero CSV bus with its designated trailer attached. Air conditioning units and awnings can be seen on the roof and the bus is shown with low-floor access ramps to both the main interior and trailer.
[Return to Figure 4]