The most brutalist and efficient library by Sidebay Studio
The use of cutting-edge materials and manufacturing processes in the design and production of Elements_Efi has resulted in a product that is both durable and sustainable, reducing the environmental impact of its use.
A Webflow library infused with the brutalist way.
The use of cutting-edge materials and manufacturing processes in the design and production of Elements_Efi has resulted in a product that is both durable and sustainable, reducing the environmental impact of its use.
Launch your portfolio, agency, startup faster than ever
The use of cutting-edge materials and manufacturing processes in the design and production of Elements_Efi has resulted in a product that is both durable and sustainable, reducing the environmental impact of its use.
Just drag, drop and make your first MRR faster
The use of cutting-edge materials and manufacturing processes in the design and production of Elements_Efi has resulted in a product that is both durable and sustainable, reducing the environmental impact of its use.
TurnTables
Exploring methods of inclusion through the development of a toolkit that connects event organizers with individuals with disabilities; eliminating barriers to attendance at spaces and events that unintentionally exclude people with different abilities.
The toolkit provides practical strategies for event organizers, including:
Physical Accessibility: Choose wheelchair-accessible venues, provide accessible seating, and consider lighting and visual needs.
Effective Communication: Ask attendees about accommodations, be aware of hidden disabilities, and clearly communicate accessibility features.
Legal Awareness: Understand legal requirements related to accessibility.
Feedback Mechanisms: Gather feedback from attendees to continuously improve inclusivity.
design question
Original Design Question:
How might we better engage people who are traditionally excluded from community activities to increase their sense of belonging?
Refined Design Question:
How might we increase the sense of belonging of individuals who have traditionally been excluded from gatherings and community activities on the basis of their identities?
Why the shift?
We found that our design question was very broad. We didn’t know what ‘traditionally excluded’ meant or who our end-users could be. After applying the research methods we were able to identify our end-users, as individuals whose identities have resulted in marginalization from activities and gatherings within their communities. We feel that while the end-user is still applicable to a large group of people, this allows for our design solution to be as inclusive as possible and to think of a wide range of solutions that can be applicable to principles of intersectionality rather than a specific element of a person’s identity.
We found that our design question was very broad. We didn’t know what ‘traditionally excluded’ meant or who our end-users could be. After applying the research methods we were able to identify our end-users, as individuals whose identities have resulted in marginalization from activities and gatherings within their communities. We feel that while the end-user is still applicable to a large group of people, this allows for our design solution to be as inclusive as possible and to think of a wide range of solutions that can be applicable to principles of intersectionality rather than a specific element of a person’s identity.
research methods
Scenarios
Present team brainstorming ideation to stakeholders and get feedback on the proposed solution based on their unique abilities and needs.
Scenario Feedback & Analysis
We received great feedback from the individuals that we interviewed. The main takeaway is that we should not impose our ideas on the end-users and that above anything we should be speaking directly with them. Time and time again, there was a strong emphasis on noting that the end-users are the best advocates for themselves. This made us realize that we were lacking dialogue and direct feedback from individuals who have felt marginalized based on their identities. As such, we decided to conduct additional user interviews.
"Did you ask the users what they wanted?"
"Don’t make a spectacle of the individuals."
"The proposed solution could result in claustrophobia for certain individuals."
User interviews:
Stakeholders: End Users, Community leaders, and family/friends of end users.
Research Questions:
Who are the individuals that are traditionally not included in community activities?
What are the common community activities that are hosted by community centers?
What social activities do individuals who are traditionally not included in community activities engage in?
What are the challenges faced by community centers?
What are the current ways communities are trying to be inclusive?
Can you talk about your experiences engaging in community activities?
Can you talk about what your favorite community activities are?
What are some challenges you face when trying to engage in community activities?
If you had unlimited resources or a “magic wand,” what would you do to solve these challenges?
Observation
spent time at various locations around the city of Seattle. Observing different community activities taking place at various settings and noting the difficulties for users with marginalized abilities to utilize those spaces.
e.g. Climbing gyms, coffee shops, bars
How could we make these spaces more inclusive?
Protocol:
Before Visit:
Background: Location, Date, Start Time, End Time
Activity Period: Activities Offered, Structured/Unstructured, Context (if reqd.)
Physical Environment: Details of Layout, Surveillance, New Equipment, Access to Environment, Potential barriers
During Visit:
Activity:
What happens when, how, and with whom, what are moods and expressions like?
Notes on Interactions:
Between members
Between members and staff
Between staff
Between different ages
Between different cultures
Between ability-diverse members
Closing
How does one end their activity?
Interactions on closing
After Visit:
- Post Observation Perceptions
- Reflection
Secondary Research
Based on literature review and user feedback.
While these community centers attempt to be as accommodating as possible, many of the physical spaces that these community centers are in or have activities in prevent people with disabilities from being able to participate.
Jennifer Waggoner from Seattle Adaptive Sports described her experiences with this limitation during her interview in User Research & Personas 3 and how she and her teammates were often required to drive hours to locate accessible spaces for them to engage in their sports. It would be interesting to hear more people’s experiences with participating in or being excluded from, a broader range of activities offered by community centers.
One size fits all was not possible, our design solution should allow for user input and gather data on users limitations.
Findings
Affinity Diagrams
Referring back to our research questions:
- Who are the individuals that are traditionally not included in community activities?
People who have self-identified disability and people with self-identified identities that are stigmatized and marginalized in society.
- What are the common community activities that are hosted by community centers?
Common recreational activities include art and sports events in groups. For instance, painting, pottery-making, and wheelchair basketball. During the pandemic, community centers also organized online events that allowed people to connect and share personal stories with members of the community in a safe space. There are also educational programs or activities that help people achieve their personal goals or gain knowledge in a specific area. For instance, learning about career pathways.
- What social activities do individuals who are traditionally not included in community activities engage in?
We are in the process of collecting more data on individuals who are traditionally not included in community activities, but as far as we know, they engage in social, recreational, as well as educational events as mentioned in the previous question.
- What are the challenges faced by community centers?
Some of the common challenges to hosting events include lack of funding, difficulty in finding accessible facilities, and lack of full-time staffing. In addition, even with sufficient funding, accessible location, and staff, organizing events could be effortful since organizers need to understand and cater to the various needs for accommodation and adapt to spontaneous situations and challenges.
- What are the current ways communities are trying to be inclusive?
Communities are trying to be inclusive by keeping the end-users needs in mind at all times during the events. Before the event, organizers survey the needs of participants and make sure people can participate in ways they feel comfortable. During the event, organizers maintain a judgment-free environment and keep the flow of the event transparent and reciprocal. Beyond that, some communities try to maintain a high proportion of staff who are people with disabilities themselves to be inclusive within the organization.
Design Requirements
Design Goals based on findings:
1. The design should prioritize individuals with disabilities.
2. The design should solve challenges faced by individuals with marginalized abilities when in physical spaces.
3. The design should allow individuals with marginalized abilities to integrate into the space without compromising their safety or well-being.
4. The design should be tolerant of access conflicts in physical/event spaces.
5. The design should enhance communication about accessibility needs between event organizers and participants.
6. The design should help participants feel safe about voicing their needs.
of7. The design should help organizers feel able to work around the constraints of the physical environment to accommodate for traditionally marginalized needs.
Design Requirements:
The final design should ideally achieve some of the following:
against
- Accommodate to the accessibility needs of users
- Allow users to have decision-making power over how they engage with the design
- Require/allow organizers to communicate with users about their needs and wants
- Reduce the financial difficulty of participation/organization of community activities
- Be scalable both in terms of membership and replicability by other community organizers
- Not discriminate against different kinds of self-identified disability
- Help users develop abilities to achieve their personal goals
- Help with destigmatizing disability and educating people who do not identify as people with disability
- Attract staffing for organizations that serve people with disabilities
- Make users feel supported, comfortable, and safe to be their authentic self
project scope
The team decided to design a solution that would allow people with marginalized abilities to review the accessibility of an event space and leave feedback for the event organizers beforehand. Part of the end result is a website plug-in from which users can preview the event space of any public, in-person events that are posted through collaborating event-listing websites through videos, photos, and or tactile floor plans. After reviewing the event space, users can leave feedback for the event organizers to make the event more accessible for them. In this way, TurnTables employs the feedback provided by event attendees themselves to develop plans and toolkits for creating more accessible events.
Accessibility should not be an afterthought.
In Scope
This system is intended to:
Make events organized in physical locations more accessible and inclusive to individuals with a physical disability, sensory disability, and/or neurodivergence.
Help organizers understand what resources would help make their event more accessible
Out of Scope
This system was not designed for:
end users with cognitive disability
organizers who do not have access to the internet and/or laptop or mobile devices
This system is currently not intended to provide this functionality:
organizing virtual or online events
provide a team to set up or arrange the event space
Choice of Platform
The TurnTables website plug-in is designed to be compatible with any event listing platforms (Ticketmaster, Eventbrite, Dice etc) that choose to add our website plug-in to their existing platforms. They may customize the font, color pallet, and UI system to accommodate the visual style of their existing platforms.
TurnTables 2.0
reduces the effort for the event organizers so that they no longer have to upload multiple media forms for future attendees to review their event space and wait for the toolkits to be delivered to them. The 2.0 version utilizes data collected from the 1.0 version to build a toolkit generator with which event organizers only need to input minimal event information to receive a custom action guide, a list of recommended tools and devices, as well as case studies of similar past events. The team anticipates that through the process, the organizers will slowly learn how to be inclusive and accessible without needing external validation or guidance.
