Building a World Fit for People: Designers with Disabilities at Work
We are pleased to introduce you to a valuable new resource, Building a World Fit for People: Designers with Disabilities at Work, a book that describes the career development of 21 designers with disabilities from around the world. The book was written and published by Adaptive Environments and funded by NEC Foundation of America. Based on the initial research funded by the National Endowment for the Arts, the book highlights the major influences that shaped each person's professional choices. For more details on the book and the authors, see the Press Kit at www.AdaptiveEnvironments.org/accessdesign.
You can order it for $15.00 or read an accessible version online for free. The book is written for young people with disabilities and their families, design students with disabilities, career and vocational rehabilitation counselors, design educators, and employers in design firms. It illustrates the varied ways that designers with disabilities are contributing to the design of our buildings and products. Building a World Fit for People promotes the design professions as a viable career opportunity for people with disabilities. The late Ron Mace, FAIA, inspired the book. He was a disabled architect who defined universal design, the mainstream design approach to create environments that most people can use throughout their lives. The book is part of Access to Design Professions, an Adaptive Environments program funded by the National Endowment for the Arts.