Glossary
Searchable terminology from accessibility, web standards, and related fields.
91 results found in design.
- Curb cut (Curb ramp, Dropped kerb, Pram ramp)
- A small ramp built into the curb of a sidewalk at intersections and pedestrian crossings, providing a smooth transition between the sidewalk and the street. Originally mandated for wheelchair users un…
- Deaf Tech (Deaf-Centered Technology)
- A framework and design orientation for technologies created by, with, and centering Deaf communities. Deaf Tech emphasizes participatory design, cultural relevance, and alignment with Deaf epistemolog…
- DeafSpace (Deaf Space, Deaf architecture)
- A set of architectural and environmental design principles developed by architect Hansel Bauman in collaboration with the Deaf community at Gallaudet University, grounded in the sensory and spatial ex…
- Design Probe (Technology Probe, Design Provocation)
- A research method in which a functional or semi-functional prototype is deployed with participants not primarily to test usability, but to provoke discussion, elicit design insights, and explore futur…
- Design System (Component Library, UI Kit)
- A collection of reusable components, patterns, guidelines, and assets that together define the visual language and interaction standards for a product or organization. Design systems typically include…
- Design for All (DfA, Design pour Tous)
- A European design philosophy that aims to create products, environments, and services usable by the widest possible range of people without adaptation or specialized design. Originating from the Europ…
- Design for Social Accessibility (Social accessibility framework, DSA)
- A design framework that extends traditional accessibility approaches by addressing not only the functional usability of technology but also the social contexts and implications of its use. Design for …
- Design justice
- A framework that centers the perspectives and leadership of people most affected by design outcomes, challenging traditional design processes that often reinforce existing power structures. Coined and…
- Design probe (Technology probe, Cultural probe)
- A research methodology in human-computer interaction where a prototype or artefact is deployed with participants not primarily to test usability, but to provoke reflection, surface unanticipated needs…
- Design space (Interaction modality)
- A medium, physical or abstract, through which a user and a device exchange information. The visual design space uses sight (screens, displays), the sonic design space uses hearing (speech, earcons, mu…
- Design space properties
- The characteristics of information within a design space, classified by the type of cognitive processing they require. Direct properties relate to perception and automatic processing — colour, brightn…
- Design space structure
- A framework characterising how raw information is organised within a design space. Nesbitt classifies information conveyed through sensory channels as nominal (categorical, such as labels), quantitati…
- Diegetic Prototype (Diegetic Prop)
- A research and design method that uses modified versions of real-world content to demonstrate potential future interventions or technologies within a familiar context. In accessibility research, diege…
- Digital Living Media (Living Media Interface, Biotic Design)
- Systems that combine living organisms with electronic components as part of a digital interface. In accessibility contexts, digital living media have been explored as motivational tools for children w…
- Earcon (Auditory icon)
- A brief, distinctive sound used in a user interface to convey information, status, or feedback non-visually. Earcons serve a similar function to visual icons but through the auditory channel. In acces…
- Ecological Metaphor (Ecological Validity, Ecological Mapping)
- A design principle in sonification and auditory display where the mapping between data and sound aligns with users' real-world sensory and cognitive experience. For example, mapping obstacle distance …
- Emotional Design
- A framework developed by Don Norman describing how people evaluate and form attachments to products through three cognitive levels: visceral (immediate sensory and aesthetic responses), behavioral (fu…
- Fidelity
- An expression of how accurately a representation reproduces its source. A photograph is a high-fidelity visual representation of a scene but loses depth, sound, and smell. In accessibility and content…
- Functional accessibility
- The degree to which a device or interface is usable by a specific user or user profile, either directly or through the addition of assistive technology. A system is functionally accessible for a given…
- Functional affordance
- A design concept introduced in receptive design methodology that describes what a product or interface enables a user to do based on specific body functions, rather than general ability assumptions. U…