Creative Accessibility in Design (Launching Spring '25)

  • Learning and applying the fundamentals of creative access through real-world partnerships and projects

Vertically Integrated Projects

“Creative accessibility” centers disability and access as a core foundation of design and creative work.  Students will learn the fundamentals of creative access, exploring modalities such as alt-text, plain language, captions, image and audio description, tactile graphics and touch objects and will apply these techniques and modalities to various projects related to museums and other cultural organizations. 

This VIP provides students with the tools to be comfortable and fluent with accessibility in both digital spaces and in cultural environments where accessible interpretations are needed, such as museums, archives, and historical sites to develop innovative, creative recommendations and solutions for accessible interpretations of all kinds, demonstrating that integrating accessibility from the inception of a project is always more effective than considering it as an afterthought.  Projects incorporate research, prototyping, documentation, final recommendations, and if applicable, fabrication and deliverables. Students will be able to effectively communicate how, why, and when to implement accessible modalities in a variety of situations. These are invaluable skills they will bring with them to creative professional careers in a number of industries. 
 

Apply To "Creative Accessibility in Design"

Methods and Technologies

  • Tactile Graphic Design & Fabrication (microcapsule and embosser)
  • Digital Accessibility
  • Physical Computing
  • Digital Fabrication
  • Open Source Hardware & Software
  • Non-visual design and fabrication
  • Rapid Prototyping & Iteration
  • Project Management for Client-based Projects
  • Accessible Interpretations of Museum Artworks and Artifacts
  • Unconventional Touch Object Design & Fabrication

Areas of Interest

  • Disability Studies
  • Museum Studies
  • Integrated Design and Media
  • Interactive Telecommunications Program
  • Digital Media Design for Learning
  • Electrical and Computer Engineering
  • Computer Science

Faculty Advisors:

The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 improved physical access to museums and historical sites, requiring features like wheelchair ramps and automated doors. However, disabled visitors often find accommodations lacking once inside the building, resulting in inequitable experiences when exploring and interacting with a museum’s offerings.  The misconception that accessibility can simply be added on at the end of a creative or design process, like checking a box on a to-do list,  often leads to expensive and time-consuming retrofitting to satisfy accessibility requirements.

It has been shown that when access is a consideration from a project’s inception, at the beginning of the design process, access can be seamlessly and elegantly integrated into the process, with no loss of aesthetic quality or innovation. ‘Creative access’ is the concept of accessibility used in a creative, expansive way, utilizing the affordances of access modalities to add layers of meaning and enrich the experience of the audience. The underlying principle of this project is to create work, spaces, and products that centers accessibility at its inception, with creative access as a core foundation, guiding both design and artistic decisions at every stage of creation. 

In this course, students will be introduced to artists, designers and researchers working with accessibility in creative and innovative ways. They will learn the fundamentals of creative access, exploring modalities such as alt-text, plain language, captions, image and audio description, tactile graphics and touch objects. Students will be offered the opportunity to apply these techniques and modalities to various projects related to museums and other cultural organizations.

This is an opportunity for students from diverse disciplines to work together on  projects with real-world applications. Projects would incorporate research, prototyping, documentation, final recommendations, and if applicable, fabrication and deliverables.    

Examples of some possible projects include:  

1. Multisensory interactive installation - incorporating physical computing, video, sound, and/or tactile objects

2. Collaborations with local organizations that serve people with disabilities - working with evaluative materials for services for adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD), to make them more accessible and multimodal. This project could encompass work with language, graphic design, and digital accessibility.

3. Exploring unconventional methods of digital fabrication to make touch objects/ tactile graphics for museums. 

 4. Nonvisual fabrication methods - developing nonvisual methods for accessible design and fabrication