#disabilitydesign

The writing style of any of my personally written text is analogous to that of any impromptu blog post, on a somewhat personal, Tumblr blog about a topic that has been brewing in my mind for about a month or so. In simple words, this following text does not follow the conventional structure of an essay, however, does connect ideas and thoughts together, to create some stream of consciousness. The art and texts shared in the stream of posts, not all have adequate citations of the original artist. However, they are works that I found through other Tumblr and are usually linked to the original source. These are works that I came across on my Tumblr feed or were the results of the search on the following tags: #accessibility, #disabilityrepresentation, #disabilities, #disabilitydesign, and #ableism.

For some of the posts I provide commentary for some I do not, they are simply examples that I have chosen to share. My main text contributions are linked below. 

https://new349.tumblr.com/tagged/maitri

My primary inspiration for this project comes from Elise Roy, a deaf lawyer, artist, human rights activist who has contributed and speaks on behalf of the social design movement. In her TEDx Video, “When we Design for Disability, We All Benefit” she discusses how if we remove “ablest logic” from our everyday design of infrastructure and objects of daily life, and design with disability in mind, we all benefit. This propelled me to address the various facets of design and disability. 

https://rosarysolimanto.com/biography/

I met this artist and got to participate in her installation during Nuit Blanche in Toronto, 2016. 

She has a variety of installations that can be found on her website and are some forms of disability representation. 

What stood out for me. A post of the picture of her business car, which has to do with redesigning our universal symbol of disability. She wants to change the wheelchair icon, to one of a blue hand, which also represents the term “handy.” This changes our discourse of individuals with disability from being disabled bodies whom are in constant need of assistance to individuals who can come in “handy” and are useful, contributing members of society. Additionally, the handy sign, encompasses individuals with invisible disabilities as well because it takes away the need for an accessible device to indicate disabilities. 

Rosary herself has multiple-sclerosis. Her disability and its place in “ablest” societies is where she draws almost all of her inspiration. Particularly her work Weights is an installation, where individuals are invited to try on 20 pound steel boots. The weight represents the weight that sometimes MS patients carry around, and how it slows them down in their day to day lives. The boots are quite visible, but no one in their right mind actually walks with boots like these. Although her suffering is invisible, it is analogous to the weight of the boots which holds individuals back and impedes them from their privileged mobility. 

This video is quite self-explanatory because Elise Roy does a great job of keeping the discussion simple, while speaking about complex and innovative concepts which combine design and disability.

Her unique experience of the world has helped inform her solution to defeating the “ablest logic,” which is defining with disability in mind.

One thing that stands out for me the most from her talk is that we should be designing for disability first, and not just the norm.

There are innovative solutions that people without disabilities have benefited from. She provides examples of texting, which had dominated popular culture and social media in the last decade or so. For example, texting on cellular devices was originally designed for deaf persons, in order to market cellular phones.

"The Accessible Icon Project provides supplies and services to transform the old International Symbol of Access into an active, engaged image. We think visual representation matters. People with disabilities have a long history of being spoken for, of being rendered passive in decisions about their lives. The old icon, while a milestone in ADA history, displays that passivity: its arms and legs are drawn like mechanical parts, its posture is unnaturally erect, and its entire look is one that make the chair, not the person, important and visible. As people with disabilities of all kinds—not just chair users—create greater rights and opportunities for social, political, and cultural participation, we think cities should evolve their images of accessibility too."

http://www.accessibleicon.org/