Accessibility, Usability, Universal Design
Three related concepts, each with its own focus, and what they add up to.
What it is
Accessibility, usability and Universal Design all play their parts in what a person can do and take part in. In the book Participation, my colleagues and I set out how the terms are conceptualised and how they relate to each other.
The first figure stacks them: accessibility innermost, usability around it, and Universal Design as the outermost circle. The second shows how each concept brings a different focus, and how together they make up the conditions for participation. I use them in teaching to ask of any project which layer the design is working at. Often the answer is only the inner one, with the outer two left to chance.
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References
- Hedvall, P.-O., Ståhl, A., & Iwarsson, S. (2025). Accessibility, usability and universal design – still confusing? Harmonisation of key concepts describing person-environment interaction to create conditions for participation. Disability and Rehabilitation, 1–10. https://doi.org/10.1080/09638288.2025.2491831
- Hedvall, P.-O., Ståhl, A., & Iwarsson, S. (2022). Tillgänglighet, användbarhet och universell utformning. In V. Denvall & S. Iwarsson (Eds.), Participation (pp. 151–181).
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