The paper discusses the challenges encountered defining suitable methods to test the hypothesis for research investigating inclusive design in the industry. It outlines the outcomes of an exploratory study with designers and clients in order to describe how the research hypothesis was formulated. The hypothesis considers the impact of information about inclusivity into the design decisions made by clients and designers during design meetings. The paper reflects on ways in which the hypothesis could be tested in order to preserve the scenario as closed as possible to the reality of the industrial process. It considers the advantages and the disadvantages of industrial and laboratory settings. The overall focus is to identify the setting and methods that would result in realistic answer to the research question. The paper concludes by proposing a scenario which could benefit from the current research context without affecting their applicability to design practice in industry.@en

The paper describes an iterative development process used to understand the suitability of different inclusive design evaluation tools applied into design practices. At the end of this process, a tool named Inclusive Design Advisor was developed, combining data related to design features of small appliances with ergonomic task demands, anthropometric data and exclusion data. When auditing a new design the tool examines the exclusion that each design feature can cause, followed by objective recommendations directly related to its features. Interactively, it allows designers or clients to balance design changes with the exclusion caused. It presents the type of information that enables designers and clients to discuss user needs and make more inclusive design decisions.@en

The adoption of inclusive design approach into design practice is compatible to the needs of an ageing society. However, tools and methods that promote inclusivity during new product development are scarcely used in industry. This paper is part of a research project that investigates ways to accommodate inclusive design into the design process in industrial context. The present paper is based on the finds from the observations and interviews with industrial designers and interviews with stakeholders. The outcomes from the study supported a better understanding of the client-designer dynamic as well as the stages in the design process where information related to inclusive design could be introduced. The findings were essential to inspire the development of an inclusive design interactive technique to be used by clients and designers.@en

Humans have the innate need to belong and relate to others. stable relationships are a great influencer of happiness and health and, therefore, should receive stronger attention for their nurture. online environment is steadily becoming the pri-mary source of relationship formation, however, its instability poses threats to build stable relationships. since online com-munication is increasingly used in relationship formation and communication, it holds opportunities for design interventions that support stable relationship creation. this paper introduces a pyramidical laddering approach that guides the building of online communication from the basis of stable creation of intimacy, to satisfying the needs of belonging and relatedness, to ultimately delivering well-being. the approach that was developed through the authors’ prior research aims to deal with the identified main barriers of online communication, distrust and disengagement, and their influence on the formation of sta-ble connections in order to enable healthy intimacy formation in the online environment. this paper brings attention to the importance of romantic relationships on health and highlights opportunities for further research in the thus far under-re-searched area of design for relation making to support well-being and health of society.@en

The adoption of inclusive design principles and methods in the design practice is meant to support the equity of use of everyday products by as many people as possible independently of their age, physical, sensorial and cognitive capabilities. Although the intention is highly valuable, inclusive design approaches have not been widely applied in industrial context. This paper analyses the findings of an empirical research conducted with industrial designers and product managers. The research indicates some of the hindrances to the adoption of inclusive design, such as the current way the market is considered and targeted, and; the way the designers are driven by the project's brief and budget to orient their research strategy and activities. The paper proposes a way to improve the current industrial mode by strategically supplying clients, designers or both together with information about inclusivity.@en