"Include" Project to Inform about Universal Design
 

The Include Project, based at the Swedish Handicap Institute and with the Stakes Project in Finland, has the objective of disseminating information throughout the European Union about Design for All/Universal Design.

Information about the Include Project and how to incorporate its principles into the product development process can be found at: www.stakes.fi/include

Products
In a special 1999 English edition of Dialogi, the Journal of the National Research and Development Centre for Welfare and Health, several products were given as examples of the new approach.

* The European Mobile Text Telephone is the first mobile text telephone in the world. It is a Nokia 9000i Communicator, with access to a gateway connecting text telephones to the standard network. Reportedly, this is giving deaf persons their first opportunity to use a mobile phone.
* RFSU Contour is a softly rounded pen with a high-friction grip that applies force from thewhole hand, instead of only from the fingers. Primarily developed for people with rheumatism, more than 150,000 have been sold in over 50 countries.

Studies are showing that the application of Design for All principles increases the total development cost by only a few percent: small but smart adaptations are often sufficient.