Deadline Extended for Design for All Foundation's Good Practices 2019

Submitted by anoopa on Wed, 12/04/2019 - 08:40

You can submit your project, product, or service as Design for All Good Practice until Friday, February 21, 2020, opting to the International Awards Design for All Foundation 2020. 

From the Design for All Foundation: 

The Design for All Foundation, with the collaboration and support of organizations throughout the world, invites public, private and not-for-profit organizations in any field, as well as individuals and end users, who support, promote and implement Design for All/Universal Design to submit entries for the 10th edition of the International Design for All Foundation Awards.

It is important to take into account that design for all is defined as interventions into environments, products and services with the aim of allowing anyone, regardless of personal characteristics such as age, gender, disability or cultural background, to participate with equal opportunities in social, economic, cultural, leisure and recreational activities. To this end, everyone should be able to access, use and understand any part of the environment with as much independence as possible.

Rationale

We wish to demonstrate that design for all is a basic tool for innovation which aims to generate not only financial profit, but also social and environmental benefits.

Examples of good practice provide the clearest representations of how design for all can improve quality of life for everyone, as they are the result of identifying a need or issue and they satisfy the requirements and expectations of clients and/or users.

At the Design for All Foundation we believe that our awards should not be a competition because any implementation of design for all/universal design contributes towards improvement. Hence, we wish to recognise all efforts, large or small, but all significant, carried out by different organisations throughout the world.

However, each year an international jury will select the 5 “Best Practices” to be presented with the International Design for All Foundation Award. These will be the examples which stand out in terms of their impact and which show the way ahead for better implementation of Design for All/Universal Design.

Objectives

  • Recognise initiatives and projects which respect human diversity through the use of design for all.
  • Promote design for all as a tool to improve quality of life for everyone.
  • Highlight the importance of design for all and its contribution to innovation within organisations.
  • Highlight initiatives which have allowed organisations to broaden the appeal of their products and services to more people over the last year.
  • Demonstrate the various social and economic benefits that Design for All/Universal Design brings.

Categories and spheres of activity

Candidates may submit entries in one of the following categories:

A. Spaces, products and services already in use.

B. Projects, proposals, initiatives, methodologies and studies.

In the current edition, each of these categories includes, but is not limited to, the following areas of activity:

  • Products (household goods, industrial products, tools, textiles, consumables, foods, etc.).
  • Graphics (graphic design, signage, etc.).
  • Information and communication technology.
  • Urban and natural spaces.
  • Buildings (architecture, interior design, etc.).
  • Transport and mobility.
  • Services (tourism, culture, leisure, banking, health, etc.).
  • Initiatives, projects and services co-created with users.

For more information visit the Design for All Foundation's website: http://www.designforall.org/index.php?Setlang=en