This is a transcript of the video David Berman speaks at edUI 2010: Beyond Green: Designing Our Sustainable Future
(Text appears on screen: edUI 2010 presents David Berman plenary Beyond Green: Designing Our Sustainable Future)
(David Berman appears on camera in front of his presentation displaying on screen and faces the audience for the duration of this video. David is wearing a beige suit with a black shirt.)
[MUSIC PLAYING]We have to identify where we can change. We don’t have to change everything, but what we have to do is recognize that the field of communications we’re in is a life-and-death issue. It’s not enough to just say, we can do delightful things. This is the most influential piece of design in my lifetime.
This horrid piece of information design that caused the war in Iraq, that caused the United States not to sign the Kyoto Accord, that caused condoms not to be shipped by the US government to Africa for eight years.
And just to show that I’m fair to both sides, [INAUDIBLE] four years later, what kind of ballots do we have? This is a ballot in Ohio four years later. It says if you wanted to reelect George Bush, George W., you had to X this four way up here. But if you wanted to vote for John Kerry, this six is right here next to your six.
In Canada, we have one ballot design for everyone. The AIGA, which is the professional organization for design in the United States, after all this trouble, decided to develop a better ballot, a ballot that’s as good as used in Europe or Canada or Australia. And this is what they came up with, something that’s clear and consistent, the same ballot used everywhere in the country. And yet only six states picked this up in the most recent presidential election.
I took this photograph last night on Fourth Avenue, just a few blocks from here. Green and red– no problem. Now, I did a little bit of research. Found out that over 8% of the men in Virginia have some level of color blindness. I also discovered that the greatest cause of accidental death in Virgina are traffic accidents.
This is what these lights look like– I’ve just taken the color out. This is what these lights look like at night if you’re completely color blind. The only distinction between them is the level of the light. And of course, that’s difficult to see. Can we not do better?
This is a type of traffic light that is being tested in the province of Quebec in Canada, as I learned last night from Curtis. Apparently, they are in Minnesota and Wisconsin as well. Now, it’s the same idea, except there’s two reds. And the reds are square, rather than circles. So not using just color as our primary design cue– we’re using color, but we’re also using shape and frequency. That is, there’s two rather than one.
And what we find is everyone loves it, not just the color-blind people. Because the parallax of seeing the two points from a distance gives you a sense of how far away it is. And indeed, because we should all be switching to LED traffic lights anyway over the next 10 years to save money on energy, it makes sense we should all switch to this type of system. This is simple design. This doesn’t cost a lot. So why aren’t we changing?
The idea that something we designed for people at the extremes helping everyone is not rare at all. Here’s a girl. She’s using a technology that’s used by quadriplegics so that they can access the internet. And by just sipping and puffing on this tube and moving her neck, she can move the mouse and click. She can surf the web.
And it’s technologies like these that have made it possible for the greatest revolution in human history. Because in the last 35 years, more human beings have been liberated by information
technology than all of the wars and revolutions in human history. We’ve taken people who couldn’t participate in society before, and through clever use of information technology, we have made it possible.
And we think, oh, that’s nice. We should take those people with extreme disabilities and bring them into our room. And maybe that’s a 3 to 4 or 5% of the population at most, I guess. But in fact, do the research and discover, well, it’s more. In fact, if you’re willing, I’d like to do a little experiment together if you’re willing. Are you willing to do a little thing? I want to ask you to do something a little different, a bit vulnerable. I’m going to ask you to identify if you have a disability just so we can get– don’t do it yet.
I have three of the disabilities I’m going to list out. I’m going to list out a few disabilities. And then at a certain point, I’m going to say, hey, if you have any of these things and you’re comfortable sharing, stand up– unless you’re in a wheelchair. So here’s my list.
Are you color blind? Do you have a hearing impairment? Do you have any sort of visual impairment? Have you ever had your arm in a cast for more than three days? Do you have trouble seeing the small type on the screen from the back of the room? Do you have a problem focusing on my list?
[LAUGHTER]OK. And I have two of the things I mentioned. And by the [? time I end my ?] presentation, I hope you’ll figure out which of those two things I have. So if you’re comfortable, please stand up if you have any of these things.
A lot. That’s a lot of people.
Wait. Oh, and I forgot. If you’re planning on living beyond the age of 45, stand up as well. Because you’re going to have eyesight problems, OK? So I want you to look left like communication professionals. Look left. And look right. And when you’re designing an accessible application or an accessible website or an accessible technology, these are the people you are designing for, not some thing you’re imagining someone holed up in an apartment somewhere. These people, very cool and suavely dressed people, are the people that you’re designing for.
Thank you for making yourselves vulnerable. Please have a seat.
Reviewed December 18, 2010