Hearth Homes Community Building
25 Kearny Street, Suite 400
San Francisco, CA 94108
Telephone: 415•397•1210; Fax: 415•733•0991
E-mail: info@hearthhomes.org

Universal Design

Adapted from a paper by The Center for Universal Design,
North Carolina State University, 1997.

A Simple Definition of Universal Design:

The design of products and environments to be usable by all people, to the greatest extent possible, without the need for adaptation or specialized design.

The Seven Basic Principles of Universal Design:

1. Equitable Use (design it fair).
Make the design useful and marketable to people with all sorts of abilities. Provide the same means of use for all, or at least equivalent means; don't segregate or stigmatize any user; make the design safe and appealing to all users.

2. Flexibility in Use (design it adjustable).
Make the design accommodate a wide range of preferences and abilities, by providing choice in methods of use, allowing right- or left-handed application, facilitating the user's precision, adapting to the user's pace.

3. Simple and Intuitive Use (design it elegant).
Make the design easy to understand and natural to use, regardless of the user's experience, knowledge, language or attention span. Eliminate complexity where possible, use common cues, and provide effective prompting and feedback.

4. Perceptible Information (design it obvious).
Make the design communicate necessary information to the user regardless of ambient conditions or the user's sensory abilities. Use different modes to present information, make them "legible" whether they are words, pictures, or shapes, and make the design compatible with other techniques or devices used by people with sensory limitations.

5. Tolerance for Error (design it safe).
Assume the user will make mistakes, and make the design minimize the hazards of such accidents. Thus, get rid of or shield hazardous elements, make the most used the most accessible, provide appropriate warnings and failsafe features, discourage unconscious action in those tasks which require vigilance.

6. Low Physical Effort (design it gentle).
Make the design easy to use and not fatiguing, by allowing the user to maintain a natural body position, requiring only reasonable exertion, and by minimizing repetitive actions and sustained physical effort.

7. Size and Space for Approach and Use (design it reachable).
Make the design accessible to approach, reach and manipulate, regardless of the user's body size, posture, or mobility. That means providing a clear line of sight to important elements for any seated or standing user, placing all components where they can be reached by a seated or standing user, accommodating various hand and grip sizes, and making room for assistive devices or people.