PhD in Universal Design

Introduction

The Kolding School of Design hereby invites proposals for PhD projects focusing on Universal Design (UD). The project is funded with the support of the Bevica Foundation. UD (also known as Design for All and Inclusive Design) is design for the physical, cognitive and emotional needs of the broadest range of people. It is to produce goods and services that assist full social inclusion. UD combines a blend of consumer‑oriented responsibility, concepts of empathy and equity and human rights‑based thinking. As a design approach, it demands intensified user‑centered design and knowledge of physical and socio‑structural barriers. In UD heightened regard is paid to variability in capability, neurodiversity and age‑related conditions. When design tools are actively selected this results in products and services which work for people with capability loss but which also are functionally and emotionally acceptable to the mainstream.

Research Themes

• Design for digital accessibility with a focus on UX research. This should focus primarily on the UX aspect of digital design rather than the UI (screen interfaces). Behind the interfaces are structural barriers to inclusion. How can UD principles be advanced before requirements are submitted to developers to deliver “buttons, menus and sliders”?
• UD and Service Design (SD). This deals with developing SD methods to promote inclusive user‑need insights and to enhance incorporation of both edge‑case and mainstream needs in the design process. While this theme may touch on digital interfaces, it is expected to relate substantially to in‑the‑world user‑experiences and the tangible structures supporting them.
• UD allied to child and youth centered design. For this theme, the focus is on children and young people. These target groups typically require different approaches and this theme aims to merge a more child‑ and youth‑centered design approach with UD. Topics could include different approaches to ensuring children or young people’s voices in aspects of their lives, where adults tend to make the decisions; within learning, quality of life, social relations, agency etc.
• UD in relation to fashion with a focus on sports clothing. Sports clothing represents a possible avenue of inquiry where the needs and aspirations of people of all capability‑levels can be met. For example, a project could focus on inclusivity in the way one explores shape inclusion, to develop clothing designed to interact dynamically with a broader range of bodies and capabilities.
• UD, policy and public administration. A growing body of literature deals with design for administration. Policy and administration are areas where there can be difficulty integrating the fine‑granular, local and particular demands of UD solutions and support for disability with policy‑making and administrative structures and processes. Connections between citizens and the state are different from the connections between “users and producers” of goods and services. How can UD design approaches be expanded to address building inclusivity into systems of administration to support equitable outcomes?
• Proposals dealing with other themes will also be considered.

Requirements

• To demonstrate an understanding of the field of UD generally.
• To indicate a specific sub‑area of interest within UD which addresses people with some kind of physical disabilities.
• To have a plausible and clearly expressed research question (yes/no questions and long, multi‑clausal abstract questions are undesirable). You are welcome to add a few sub‑research questions as well.
• To have a clear description of the UD research process by which the question(s) might be answered (i.e. what are you going to do to answer the question(s)?).
• To include a preliminary research plan.
• To demonstrate ability to prepare written output. This could be conference papers, articles or other publications. Applicants are encouraged to clearly outline a practice‑based or purely publication‑based approach with focus on UD (or the above related areas) based on specific experiments.

Applicants are encouraged to clearly outline a practice‑based or purely publication‑based approach with focus on UD (or the above related areas) based on specific experiments. This can be in all design disciplines. Applications will be assessed, among other factors, according to the depth and interest of the topic, including how it fits with Kolding School of Design’s and Lab for Social Design’s overall strategy.

We are also very interested to know how the proposal might fit into the disciplines of industrial design, fashion design, textile design, communication design or accessory design.

Teaching is part of the PhD position’s activities and there is an opportunity to integrate research experiments and backgr