A Japanese garden pond with the lily pads within anyone's reach; a rustic log cabin fully accessible to wheelchair users; a museum exhibit that tells its story through touch and sound. These are a few of the recently published examples of the principles of universal design.

When the late Ronald L. Mace, FAIA inspired a group of architects and researchers at North Carolina State University to consider design to be for everyone, he set in motion what has become a worldwide movement, with the NC State Center for Universal Design as a leading proponent.

A recent product from this group is a multimedia CD-ROM, Universal Design Exemplars, which highlights examples from around the world of environments and consumer products that strive for broadest possible usability.

The exemplary environments and products, explained through text, drawings, photographs, and audio commentary, are notable not only in how accessible they are but also in how well designed they are in every sense of the word.

The secondary message to designers: do not compromise your high design standards when striving for maximum usability.

What is Universal Design?

The term universal design is a goal rather than a fixed target. Its practitioners seek to make products and environments usable by all people, to the greatest extent possible, without the need for adaptation or specialized design.