Can design cater to a diverse society? How does it respond to the disparate demands of the people using it? Debates about inclusion and participation have been an important part of the design discourse since at least the 1980s. Contemporary design approaches expand on the concepts of Universal Design and Design for All, reinterpreting them in a community-based, participatory design practice.

Design for All? Inclusive Design Today gathers together a variety of recent projects, initiatives, and concepts drawn from different design disciplines, and sets up a dialogue with teachers and researchers who are active on the international scene to discuss them for the first time. Dealing with a range of different voices in inclusive design strategies can be seen as part of a paradigm shift that radically questions society’s normative values: Can design also make a society fairer?

Evelyn Steiner, dipl. Arch. ETH / MA Art History, works as an independent curator, journalist, and moderator. Sara Zeller did her doctorate in art history and is a curator at the Museum für Gestaltung Zürich.