Glossary
Searchable terminology from accessibility, web standards, and related fields.
6660 terms — page 90 of 333
- Desensitization (Haptic Adaptation, Vibrotactile Adaptation)
- Desensitization in the context of haptic feedback refers to the gradual reduction in a person's sensitivity to continuous or repeated vibrotactile stimulation on the skin. When haptic actuators vibrat…
- Desexualization (Asexualization)
- The social phenomenon in which disabled people are assumed to be uninterested in, incapable of, or undeserving of sexual relationships and intimacy. This manifests as invasive questioning about sexual…
- 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 Exclusion (Exclusion Audit, Technology Exclusion)
- The process by which certain users are prevented from effectively using a product or service due to mismatches between the design of the technology and their abilities, circumstances, or available res…
- 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 Fixation (Fixation Effect)
- A cognitive phenomenon in the design process where exposure to existing examples or initial solutions constrains creative thinking, causing designers to replicate or only minimally modify those exampl…
- Design Informant (Informant Design)
- A participatory design role in which users contribute to the design process by providing input, preferences, and feedback, but the researcher retains responsibility for interpreting this data and maki…
- Design Justice
- A framework that centers the perspectives of people who are most impacted by design decisions, ensuring that design processes, practices, and outcomes distribute benefits and burdens equitably. Coined…
- Design Pattern (Interaction Pattern, Pattern of Assistive Interaction)
- A reusable, generalised description of a solution to a commonly recurring design problem, expressed in a way that can be applied across different contexts without prescribing a specific implementation…
- 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 Psychology (Designer Cognition, Design Thinking Process)
- The study of the cognitive processes, mental models, and decision-making strategies that designers employ during the product development process. In the context of accessibility, design psychology is …
- Design Saviorism
- A problematic dynamic in design practice where nondisabled designers position themselves as rescuers of disabled people, seeking praise while attempting to fix something that is not broken. Design sav…
- Design Sprint (Google Design Sprint)
- A structured, time-constrained design methodology originally developed at Google Ventures that guides teams through five phases — Map, Sketch, Decide, Prototype, and Test — to rapidly solve design pro…
- 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 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…
- 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 Dynamic Diversity (D3, DDD)
- A design paradigm proposed by Gregor, Newell, and Zajicek (2002) that explicitly accounts for the fact that human abilities are not static but change dynamically over time, particularly as people age.…
- 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 for User Empowerment (DfUE, Empowerment-Oriented Design)
- A design philosophy that prioritizes giving users — particularly people with disabilities — the skills, tools, and agency to create, modify, and customize their own technology solutions rather than be…
- 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…