UNIVERSAL DESIGN INDIA PRINCIPLES @ 2011; A COLLABORATIVE

PROCESS OF DEVELOPING DESIGN PRINCIPLES.

Khare Rachna
School of Planning and Architecture Bhopal, India
khare_rachna@hotmail.com
Mullick Abir
National Institute of Design, Ahmedabad, India
abir.mullick@gmail.com
Raheja Gaurav
Indian Institute of Technology, Roorkee
gradesfap@iitr.ernet.in

SUMMERY

India, a country with strong historic and cultural past, has deep rooted traditions that
are part of its social and cultural life. Indians are pragmatic people whose needs are
grounded in reality. There are other important Indian issues like the aesthetics and
the culture that make its people unique. The 7 principles of UD are functional
directives those when overlaid with the 5 Indian principles (UDIP),are organized for
Indian use. These principles are much needed for the success of UD in India.This
paper highlights the development and evolution of these five principles of Universal
Design India (UDIP) which addresses the needs of diverse Indian users across
ability, age, socio-economic strata and culture.

KEYWORDS

Universal Design; Inclusive Design; Context; Social Equity; Design Principles.

PURPOSE OF THE STUDY

Universal design involves a fundamental shift in thinking about design, particularly

with regard to designing to address social difference [Steinfeld and Mullick, 1997;
Story, 1998]. Developed in USA as a Civil Rights Issue and equal opportunity for
those with and without disabilities, the democratic values of universal design are
grounded in self reliance, social empowerment and personal choice. As a design
approach, universal design requires incorporating flexibility, adaptability and
modularity to achieve best fit and mass customization for everyone. At the Center for
Universal Design at North Carolina State University a group of experts established
Seven Principles of Universal Design to provide guidance in the design of products
and environments [NCSU, 1997]. When Universal Design Principles are applied,
products and environments meet the needs of potential users with a wide variety of
characteristics. Continuing the spirit of Universal Design that advocates against "one
design fits all", the Universal Design India Principles are developed by an
interdisciplinary team of Indian experts [Khare, 2011; Mullick, 2011] to address the
needs of diverse population in the Indian context. Universal Design India Principles
are additional principles which when added to the larger framework of the Seven
Principles of Universal Design (USA), allow customizing Universal Design
applications, regionalizing Universal Design contexts and localizing the global idea of
Universal Design. The Universal Design India principles are based on the cultural
needs of the Indian people; they acknowledge the seven principles of Universal
Design (USA) and build on their social and equitable agenda to address the cultural
needs of Indian people.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

„Universal Design India Principles‟ are developed under „Universal Design India
Project‟as a step by step collaborative effort by a group of nine exerts from in India.
The joint effortof experts focus on Indian cultural practices and reinforce the
understanding about Universal Design Practice in the Indian context. There are three
major stages envisaged in Universal Design India Project:
Stage I - Development of Universal Design India Principles
Stage II - Elaboration of Universal Design India Principles
Stage III - Examples of Universal Design India Principles
Presently stage-I is over with the development of Universal Design India
Principles©2011,whereas the experts continue to work together on Stage-II & III. The
development process of Universal Design Principles India observed a very similar
process like the Universal Design Principles Project in USA except that the latter was
done over a week and face-to-face in Raleigh, North Carolina, and the former
happened via e-mail and took almost five months. In the beginning experts
collectively identified 55 Universal Design India criteria and 14 Accessible Design
criteria which when refined produced the first draft Universal Design India Principles
with 24 criteria. The development process maintained a complete anonymity for
promote full participation and remove any bias. Second draft came up after a lot of
struggle and hard work with 7 Universal Design India Principles and was presented
in a tabular format. In the final draft principles were further checked to strictly remove
any overlap and summarized to 5. 5-Universal Design India Principles were then
coupled with Hindi words that rhyme well together to make them simple, easy to
remember and present to a larger audience in India. The steps in the process are:

1. Identify Universal Design experts in India: The first step in the process was
to identify Universal Design experts in India. Twelve experts were identified
from premier academic institutions and non-government organizations in India
working in the field of disability, universal design and crossover. It was
ensured that the experts come from various disciplines to have representation
from the diverse fields related with Universal Design.

2. Inform Universal Design experts about the principles project and invite
them to participate: The experts were approached and invited through E-
mail, they were informed about the project, the process, time schedule and
expected outcomesin detail. Out of twelve invited experts nine gave their
consent to take part, there were no selection criteria and those who opted to
contribute participated in the project. The group of experts who finally worked
on the Universal Design India project represented the disciplines of industrial
 design, architecture, planning and ergonomics. The names of experts in the
working group are (in alphabetical order):
 Abir Mullick, National Institute of Design, Ahmedabad
 Anjlee Agarwal, Samarthyam, New Delhi
 Balaram S., D J Academy of Design, Coimbatore
 Debkumar Chakrabarti, Indian Institute of Technology, Guwahati
 Gaurav Raheja, Indian Institute of Technology, Roorkee
 Haimanti Banerji, Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur
 Rachna Khare, School of Planning and Architecture, Bhopal
 Ravi Shankar, National Institute of Design, Bangalore
 Shivani Gupta, AccessAbility, New Delhi

3. Send Universal Design information sheet to experts to respond to a set

of framed questions: Seven questions were framed to seek views of experts
to establish Universal Design in Indian Context. The questions were kept
simple, precise and neutral. A pilot test was done to ascertain clarity and
remove unintended side-effects before sending it to experts.The seven
questions in the Universal Design information sheet were:
 What is Universal Design in India?
 What is Accessibility in India?
 How does Universal Design differ from Accessibility in India?
 Identify three excellent examples of Universal Design in India?
 What are the three excellent examples of Accessible Design in India?
 What criteria were used to identify Universal Design examples?
 What criteria were used to identify Accessible Design examples?

4. Compile all responses: After feedback was received from the experts,
compilation process began with full anonymity for unbiased and objective
assessment in the next step. Other than the person who was putting together
the informationnobody knew the source. In thisstepfeedback from experts in
response to the above seven questions was accumulated that resulted in
collective identification of fifty five Universal Design India criteria and fourteen
Accessible Design India criteria. This rich information clearly portrayed great
start for Universal Design Principles in India.

5. Circulate information to all experts and seek feedback: Compiled fifty five
Universal Design India criteria and fourteen Accessible Design India criteria
were then circulated to the experts once again to assess each criterionto be
Universal Design criteria relevant to India. As stated before this process was
anonymous to ensure that everyone is assessing the content and not the
person. Experts collectively edited, grouped and checked all fifty five
Universal Design India criteria for redundancies and also to introducethe ones
that were missing. The intent was to
 Edit the Universal Design India criteria for appropriateness
 Eliminate weak, inappropriate and duplicate criteria
 GroupUniversal Design India criteria by content, meaning and
appropriateness
 Add new criteria
  Transfer appropriate Accessible Design criteria to Universal Design India
criteria.

6. Compile feedback and develop first draft of Universal Design principles

from the information received: Seemingly simple, the first draft of Universal
design India Principles was a result of a lot of wrestle and hard work. When
the feedback from experts that edited, grouped and checked all fifty five
Universal Design India criteria for redundancies and overlap, it collectively
identified twenty four Universal design criteria relevant to India.

7. Circulate first draft and seek feedback: Twenty four Universal Design India
criteria was again an unmanageable number and presented for open
discussion to the experts through electronic medium. The process was not
anonymous anymore and everyone had a chance to voice, vote and
evaluate.Everyone participated in development of measures for further
omission, compilation and refinement, to bring the principles down to a
manageable number.It was ensured that important issues do not get
marginalized to reduce the number of principles.

8. Compile feedback and revise first draft to develop second draft.Second

draft was developed with the received feedback that brought down the
number of principles to seven. Following logicswere applied in consensus in
compilation of the Universal Design India Principles at this stageto help
develop a framework thatnot only has strong Universal Design focus but also
had a coherent apparent structure.

 Excluded result oriented principles like „promote inclusion‟ or „allow

personalization‟, as the Universal Design India principles are expected
to bring about inclusion through personalization.
 Eliminated principles that spell out „safety‟ and „privacy‟ as these
principles are fundamental to „good design‟ and not exclusive to
Universal Design.
 Omitted process oriented statements like „holistic approach‟ and
„contextual‟ as it is difficult to arrive at a clear definition of what makes
a process holistic or contextual. In the absence of a clear definition,
such principles had the chance to become debatable.
 Omitted principles like „sustainable‟ as it has weak connection to
Universal Design principles.
 Attempted to keep global principles like „Equity‟, „Culture‟ and
„Aesthetics‟, implying „what to do‟ and have omitted action oriented
principles like „Flexible‟ and „Adaptive‟as they spell „how to do‟.
 Omitted terms like „people with disabilities, able bodied, men, women
or children‟, and replaced with „users‟ instead.
 Replaced the term „all users‟bydisclaimerin Universal Design India
Principles „All users imply people of all ages, gender, disability, caste,
class, religion and urban/rural background‟
Based on above logics, second draft of Universal Design India Principles
structured earlier generated criteria as „Principles‟, „Description‟ and
„Guidelines‟ in a tabular format with seven principles. „Principle‟ named the
principle or „what to do‟; „Description‟ offered an explanation of the principle;
 and „Guidelines‟ listed the action points or „how to achieve‟ the goals of the
principles.

9. Circulate second draft and seek feedback:At this moment sevenUniversal

Design IndiaPrinciples were identified by Indian experts. Allseven Universal
Design India Principles were India related and had strong cultural context,
though three of the developed principles echoed the Seven Principles of
Universal Design (USA). The second draft was again circulated to all experts
for discussion and commentswere invited on following points:
 Should Universal Design India Principles stay focused only to
Indiaand eliminate those that echo the SevenPrinciples of Universal
Design (USA).
 Should Universal Design India Principles stay as a comprehensive
list and include the three principles that echo the Seven Principles
of Universal Design (USA).
Opinion of the working group on above two points had to play a very strategic
role in positioning Universal Design India Principlesin global arena, hence
opinion of all Indian experts participating in Universal Design India Project
was recorded andvery carefully included in the final outcome.

10. Compile feedback and finalize Universal Design India Principles: It

wasconsensuallydecided by all Indian experts thatUniversal Design India
Principles would stay India focused and separate from the existing Seven
Universal Design Principles(USA). The Seven Principles of Universal
Design(USA) would stay as overarching Universal DesignPrinciples and
Universal Design India Principles would complement these principles and
contextualize them to address regional requirements. People would refer to
the Seven Universal DesignPrinciples(USA) for fundamental Universal Design
issues and the Universal Design India principles for issues of Indian
importance. It was decided that this would be clearly stated in the disclaimer
with Universal Design India Principles.
In the Final Draft principles were further refined and checked to strictly
remove any overlap with Seven Universal Design Principles(USA)and were
condensed to fivewith only one principle„Equity‟ in common. Since the
fundamental basis of Universal Design is social, experts supported the idea of
having the „Equity‟ principle in common. Expertsthought thatFive Universal
Design India Principles would be easy to remember and should be coupled
with simple „Hindi‟ words to bring it out to a larger audience in India.The five
principles and guidelines were ordered, edited, reworded and refined with the
working groupfor „Final Version‟ of Universal Design India Principles. The
„Final Version‟ had Five Universal Design India Principles coupled with Hindi
words beginning with „S‟ and was presented in a tabular format; Principles,
Description and Guidelines. „Principle‟ named the principle or „what to do‟;
„Description‟ offered an explanation of the principle; and „Guidelines‟ listed
„how to achieve‟ the goals of the principles.

11. Meet with press and launch UDIP: The five principles of Universal Design
India were released in a press conference held at India Habitat Center, New
Delhi, India on 21st June 2011. A graphic was also developed along with the
principles for Semantic association of Indianness with the Palm / Hand as a
 metaphor wherein five fingers express diversity and yet universalise.Seven
out of nine members of the expert group were present in the event and
representatives from National Institute of Design, India who sponsored the
event.
Co-authored by nine Indian experts, the final outcome of the project„Five
Universal Design India Principles‟ address the needs of diverse population in
Indian context and employ equity, usability, culture, economics and aesthetics
to further the social and equitable agenda of universal design.

RESULTS – UDIP, A PRACTICE INNOVATION

Developed by an interdisciplinary team five Universal Design India Principles intend

to build consensus on contextual definition and principles of practice. The principles
with two disclaimers are listed below with descriptions, and guidelines to put them in
practice.

Disclaimers
 The UDI principles are standalone universal design goals that focus on
Indianness, inclusivity and social differences related to culture, age,
gender, disability, caste, class, religion, poverty and urban/rural
background.
 UDI principles neither make any connection to nor build upon the 7
Universal Design Principles. They recognize the overarching importance 7
Principles in the field of universal design.

Principles Description Guidelines

1 Equitable/ The design is  Avoid prejudices against people of all ages, gender,
Saman fair and non- disability, sizes, caste, class and religion.
discriminating to  Consider different capabilities of users and build in
diverse users in many levels of engagement.
Indian context  Provide choices in access and use thru flexibility
and customization.
 Allow personalization through inclusion of adjustable
and adaptable options.
 Provide equality in challenge, opportunity and
energy requirement.
2 Usable/ The design is  Provide independence, comfort, safety and support
Sahaj operable by all during use.
users in Indian  Facilitate access, operation and convenience by
context diverse users.
 Include adaptations for those experiencing difficulty
in use.
 Provide clarity in use, operation and maintenance to
minimize instruction and avoid confusion and error.
 Adopt simple means to overcome complex
operation.
 Follow cultural norms to address user expectations.
 Offer multi-sensory feedback to point in the right
 direction.
 Build in intuitive operation and innate understanding
of problem.
 Allow easy adaptation to facilitate use by people
with diverse abilities.
 Prevent costly mistakes and untended consequence
from misuse.
3 Cultural / The design  Maintain social and traditional qualities in design.
Sanskritik respects the  Include Indian idioms to make historic and social
cultural past and connection.
the changing  Present in many languages for inclusive
present assist comprehension.
all users in  For all castes and society levels.
Indian context  Respond to local context and conditions.
 Employ appropriate technology to match user
expectations.
4 Economy/ The design  Ensure affordability, durability and maintainability.
Sasta respects  Use local materials for energy savings and cost
affordability and effectiveness.
cost  Focus on low unit cost through wide distribution.
considerations  Adopt modular approach to offer choice in features
for diverse and price range.
users in Indian
context
5 Aesthetics The design  Employ aesthetic to enhance universal appeal and
/ Sundar employs use.
aesthetic to  Allow personalizing aesthetics through flexibility,
promote social adaptability and modularity of colour, form, texture
integration and interaction.
among users in  Employ appearance to inform use and safety.
Indian context  Bridge wide range of meaning and comprehension
gaps.
Table 1. Universal Design India Principles with Description and Guideline for
Practice.

CONCLUSION:

The development of five principles of Universal Design India follows a sequential

process of co creation to address the needs of diverse Indian users across ability,
age, socio-economic strata and culture [Mullick, 2011; Khare, 2011] . Developed at
the National Institute of Design and co-authored by nine Indian experts from premier
academic institutions and disability organizations, these principles would help
strategize design activity and move India towards social and economic inclusion.
The development process of Universal Design India Principles adopted a unique and
democratic approach of co-creation. Everyone in the expert group was evaluated
and got a chance to evaluate. Each and every voice was heard and recorded, and
each contribution was honoured in the process of development and the final
outcome.
The SevenPrinciples of Universal Design (USA) are overarching Universal Design
principles, internationally. But Universal Design India Principles are developed to
complement these principles and contextualize them to address regional
requirements. Seven principles in combination with Indian principles are different
principles within the larger social framework that help to regionalize the seven
principles. Customization is the key to universal design, and the inclusion of the
Indian principles allows customizing Universal Design for the Indian region.

REFERENCES

 Khare, Rachna. 2011. “Universal Design India Principles: A Methodological

Collaborative Framework”, Design for All Newsletter, Design for All Institute
Publication, India. Abir Mullick (ed), Vol-6, No-11.

 Mullick, Abir. 2011“Universal Design India Principles: A Methodological

Collaborative Framework”, Design for All Newsletter, Design for All Institute
Publication, India. Abir Mullick (ed), Vol-6, No-11.

 NCSU. 1997. Connell, B.R., Jones, M., Mace, R., Mueller, J., Mullick,
A.,Ostroff, E., Sanford, J., Steinfeld, E., Story, M. and Vanderheiden, G. “The
Principles of Universal Design”.Center for Universal Design, North Carolina
State University,Raleigh, NC”.

 Steinfeld, E., Mullick, A. (1997). “Universal design - What it is and isn‟t”.

Innovation: Journal of IDSA, (Spring), 16(1),14-18.

 Story, M. F. (1998). The universal design file: Designing for people of all ages
and abilities. Retrieved February 2012, from http://design-
dev.ncsu.edu/openjournal/index.php/redlab/article/viewFile/102/56.

POSTER: UNIVERSAL DESIGN INDIA PRINCIPLES©2011