Sarah Hendren: Inclusive Design

I remember Sarah Hendren coming to CMU give a lecture for the School of Design’s Design the Future lecture series. Her presentation revolves around presenting an intriguing project, explaining the process of it, and then using the story of the process to make her point.  Sarah is an artist and design researcher at the Ollin College of Engineering whose work “engages adaptive and assistive technologies, prosthetics, inclusive design, accessible architecture, and related ideas”. As designers, unless prompted otherwise, we will always assume that the user is of able body, sense, and intellect. Because of this unstated assumption in design, the most designer would fail to consider how handicapped people would interact with their designs. Additionally, even when designers do consider these “not-normal” people, often time designers would assume that these “not-normal” people would want to reestablish “normalcy” through technology. Sarah distinguishes between the idea of cure versus accommodation, should we cure disability or should we accommodate a disability? She contrasts a high-tech electric muscle prosthetic arm that Gizmodo celebrates, with the high-impact almost free prosthetic leg that is made of recycled plastic in India. From communication to products, and environments, Sarah’s work spans no bounds. As a whole, Sarah’s practice is about re-contextualizing disability and transitioning towards a society where differences are celebrated.