Glossary
Searchable terminology from accessibility, web standards, and related fields.
25 results found in design methods.
- Accessible Design Methods (Inclusive Design Methods)
- Design research methodologies that have been adapted or created to enable participation by people with disabilities, ensuring they can contribute as active co-creators rather than passive subjects. Tr…
- Accessible Prototyping (Inclusive Prototyping)
- The practice of adapting prototyping methods and materials to enable participation by people with disabilities, particularly in early-stage design activities. Accessible prototyping goes beyond simply…
- Affinity Diagramming (Affinity Mapping, KJ Method)
- A qualitative data analysis and design method where researchers or team members organize individual data points (observations, quotes, ideas) into groups based on natural relationships and themes. In …
- Assistive Device Design (AT Design)
- The process of developing assistive technologies and devices to meet the needs of people with disabilities. Effective assistive device design requires involving end users as active participants throug…
- Audio Fiction (Audio Vignette, Audio Scenario)
- A speculative design research method that uses pre-recorded audio dialogues to present fictional scenarios depicting interactions with hypothetical future technologies. Audio fictions combine descript…
- Co-Design (Co-creation, Cooperative Design)
- Co-design is a collaborative design approach that actively involves all stakeholders — including end users, domain experts, and designers — as equal partners in the design process. In accessibility wo…
- Collaborative Design (Collaborative Design Session)
- A design approach where multiple participants work together to create shared design solutions, building on each other's ideas and negotiating design decisions collectively. In accessible design worksh…
- Cooperative Inquiry (Co-Inquiry)
- A participatory design methodology that involves children as full design partners throughout the technology development process, from initial brainstorming through prototyping and evaluation. Develope…
- Critical Design (Critical Design Framework, Design Through Critique)
- A research through design methodology that foregrounds the ethics of design practice, reveals potentially hidden agendas and values, and explores alternative design values. In accessibility research, …
- Design Constraints (Creative Constraints)
- Limitations or boundaries placed on the design process, whether intentional (such as toolkit components in a prototyping workshop) or inherent (such as budget, technology, or time constraints). In des…
- Design Fiction (Speculative Fiction, Diegetic Prototype)
- A design research practice that creates fictional but plausible artifacts, scenarios, or narratives set in imagined futures to provoke discussion, surface assumptions, and explore the social and ethic…
- Design Workshop (Design Session)
- A structured session where participants collaborate to generate ideas, create prototypes, and provide feedback on designs. Design workshops are a common method in user-centered and participatory desig…
- Embodied Critique (Embodied Feedback, Body-Based Critique)
- A method of expressing critical feedback through physical bodies and bodily actions rather than relying solely on spoken or written language. Embodied critique draws on disability cultures where commu…
- Gesture Elicitation (User-Defined Gestures)
- Gesture elicitation is a participatory design method where end users are asked to invent gestures for a set of device functions, rather than having gestures predetermined by designers or engineers. Pa…
- Haptic Toolkit (Tactile Prototyping Toolkit)
- A collection of physical materials designed to enable hands-on design and prototyping through touch rather than vision. In accessible design research, haptic toolkits are developed specifically for bl…
- Inclusive Design Process
- A design approach that intentionally includes diverse users, particularly those with disabilities and from marginalized communities, throughout all stages of product development. An inclusive design p…
- Low-Fidelity Prototyping (Lo-Fi Prototyping, Paper Prototyping)
- A design method that uses simple, inexpensive materials to create quick, rough representations of a product or interface for early-stage testing and feedback. Traditional lo-fi prototyping relies heav…
- Magnetic Prototyping
- A prototyping technique that uses magnetic elements on magnetic boards to create quickly reconfigurable physical designs. In accessible design for blind users, magnetic prototyping is particularly eff…
- Need-Finding Interview (Need-Finding Study, Needs Assessment Interview)
- A qualitative research method conducted early in the design process to understand users' current practices, challenges, unmet needs, and desires for future solutions. Need-finding interviews typically…
- Reverse Inclusion
- A design approach that begins with the lived experience and needs of a person with a disability and then expands the design outward to include broader social circles and communities. Reverse inclusion…