097: The Functional Impact of Aesthetics

Show Notes:

The UD Project: “What is Universal Design?”

Graham, L., Gosling, S., & Travis, C. (2015). The psychology of home environments: A call for research on residential space. Perspectives on Psychological Science, 10(3), 346–356. 

Specific Research Articles – Evidence of How Spaces Impact Human Function

1. Evans, G.W. (2003). The built environment and mental health. Journal of Urban Health, 80(4), 536-55. 
2. Bertani, D. E., De Novellis, A. M., Farina, R., Latella, E., Meloni, M., Scala, C., Valeo, L., Galeazzi, G. M., & Ferrari, S. (2021). “Shedding light on light”: A review on the effects on mental health of exposure to optical radiation. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 18(4). 
3. BBC. (2017, February 19). Why we find symmetry so soothing. 
4. Gambelin, A.-M. (2024, August 7). It’s science: Clutter can definitely give you anxiety. Motherly. 
5. Pixie Technology Inc. (2018, June 26). Lost and found: The average American spends 2.5 days each year looking for lost items collectively costing U.S. households $2.7 billion annually in replacement costs. PR Newswire.  
6. Bergefurt, L., Appel-Meulenbroek, R., & Arentze, T. (2023). How physical home workspace characteristics affect mental health: A systematic scoping review. Work, 76(2), 489–506. 
7. Rachel. (2024, August 27). The Science of Sleep: How Bedroom Design Influences Your Rest. Fresh Design Blog: Modern and Contemporary Interior Design. 
8. Kozan, M. (2024, December 3). How Interior Design Can Enhance Your Sleep Quality. Interior Couturier. 
9. Grandgeorge, M., & Masataka, N. (2016). Atypical color preference in children with autism spectrum disorder. Frontiers in Psychology, 7. 
10. Nair, A. S., Priya, R. S., Rajagopal, P., Pradeepa, C., Senthil, R., Dhanalakshmi, S., Lai, K. W., Wu, X., & Zuo, X. (2022). A case study on the effect of light and colors in the built environment on Autistic Children’s behavior. Frontiers in Psychiatry, 13. 

Other Resources Mentioned

• The Home Edit
• Episode #74: Paint Color: An Array of UD Options
• Episode #26: Designing for Dementia
• Episode #44: Invisible Universal Design

Transcript:

Kelly: Hello everyone and welcome back to Good Fit Poor Fit. My name is Kelly, and I’m one of the OT doctorate students working with The UD Project this summer for my capstone experience. You may remember hearing from me in a recent UD and Me episode where I introduced the topic area for my project, which is the role of aesthetics in universal design. I’ll be discussing this in more depth in today’s episode to hopefully impart on anyone listening, the impact of aesthetics on our functioning and well-being.

Sarah: I love that we’re going to dig into this more, Kelly. I will let you educate our listeners on the definition and application of aesthetics here in a minute. But if you are a new listener to the Good Fit Poor Fit Podcast and haven’t really heard the term universal design before; I wanted to share a short blurb about what that is, and I’ll link a page to our website in the show notes that really unpacks that full definition. But UD is [00:01:00] not a concept that we came up with. Ron Mace was an architect with polio who saw a great need to advocate and implement the design of products and the built environment to work for everyone regardless of age, ability, or status in life. His official definition and design process has been coined universal design and can be implemented in a variety of ways. Over the years, a lot of products and homes have been designed to be functional, but not as desirable in the aesthetics department. While Ron Mace started his work in the late 1980s and 1990s, we are still plugging away in 2025 to educate about the benefits of UD to so many. I am super general in my definition of UD here, but keep listening because we have a lot of examples coming up for not only how UD and aesthetics apply to physical spaces and products, but how it impacts us mentally and emotionally as well.

So, Kelly, [00:02:00] give us a solid definition of aesthetics to our listeners so they can grab onto this concept as we’re chatting.

Kelly: Will do. So there are a few different definitions of aesthetics, but at its core, this term refers to the branch of philosophy, dealing with the creation and appreciation of beauty. It recognizes that humans have a preference for what is visually appealing and pleasing to the senses. Someone’s aesthetic is often referring to their personal preferences for things like this. We see this in countless areas, like the aesthetics of someone’s wardrobe, taste and art, home decor, and more. If you have an opinion on how something looks, for example, when I spent an hour picking out my glasses frame or my duvet cover, then you totally understand personal preference in aesthetics. In the context of my project, when I say aesthetics, I’m referring to design elements that are visually pleasing or beautiful to look [00:03:00] at in our homes. So colors, organization, symmetry, et cetera.

Rebecca: I think it’s super important that we laid this out upfront. I think aesthetics is a word that people use a lot, but aren’t always entirely sure what they’re talking about. Your examples are excellent and I’d like to add another specifically UD related thing to this conversation.

If we think about the classic universal design example of an OXO kitchen gadget, you know those ones with the little logo OXO on them, they’re often pretty simple in how they look. That’s an aesthetic choice to make them that way so that a wide variety of people can pick up an OXO paper towel holder and not have to wonder if it’ll match their kitchen.

What else can you tell us about aesthetics, Kelly?

Kelly: I actually talked about OXO with a product designer that I interviewed earlier in the summer. He described that they’re often used as a case study of what great UD looks like because they never even really marketed themselves as an accessibility focused company. They are just usable for [00:04:00] everyone from the start and blend in with traditional kitchenware because they’re so aesthetically appealing, like you said. That’s actually a great transition into what else I have to add here about aesthetics. In addition to personal style and preference, there are design elements that are considered aesthetically pleasing to almost everyone and vice versa with a sort of unspoken agreement. I think it’s really beautiful how this concept acknowledges that humans have this inexplicable, visceral reaction to beauty. It’s unlearned. We just feel some type of way in reaction to things that move us. I think about the way music can make you feel, or an awe-inspiring landscape. Visual elements of interior design and or product design are subject to this agreement as well, like how everyone seems to appreciate natural light and think that a blank white wall feels sterile and boring.

Rebecca: Yeah, that makes total sense. And I think we actually talked about the idea of natural light in your UD and Me episode, Kelly. So that’s a cool tie [00:05:00] in here. It’s really interesting to think about this and I love these examples ’cause there’s definitely something very human feeling about like being in awe of something really magnificent like the Grand Canyon, or feeling at peace when you hear certain type of music or sounds, you know, you always hear the same types of music in spas, for example, because those sounds and those tones can be really relaxing for people, typically pretty much across the board. But of course, you know, nothing’s a hundred percent. So I definitely see what you’re saying here about how elements of our environment can impact our emotions. And I’m really interested to hear more about how design impacts the way we feel in the home setting, specifically.

Kelly: For sure. An article I have really loved and continued to go back to throughout this project titled, “The Psychology of Home Environments: A Call for Research on Residential Space.” I’ll link the full article in the show notes. The authors point out that people put an enormous amount of time, energy, and resources into curating and maintaining their homes. [00:06:00] The home decor market grosses over $65 billion annually, and HGTV attracts 70 million monthly viewers. I mean, this is the space that we spend the vast majority of our time. A lot of what the article presents supports my belief that people don’t just care about being able to physically function in their homes, they want to feel comfortable in them. Home is as much a feeling as it is a place, right? The authors conducted a study to determine if there is a commonality between the ambiances people want to evoke in different areas of their home. The most frequently selected ambiances on the survey across all rooms were inviting, organized, and relaxing. There was a strong consensus amongst participants on what ambiance they wanted for what rooms. For example, quiet, productive, and organized were the top three for an office; while the top for a living room were [00:07:00] relaxation, comfort, and family. Someone’s ability to work well in an office that feels quiet and organized is far different than in one that feels cozy and tranquil, like how you want to feel before you’re going to bed. I think this demonstrates how the aesthetics of a space contribute to how you feel in them and therefore how well you’re able to perform desired occupations in that room. The authors of this article point this out as well, saying these links between ambiances and environments point to the idea that in addition to having various physical qualities that can help or hinder pragmatic tasks, spaces also have psychological qualities that almost certainly affect how the spaces are used, how the occupants feel, and what they think about. Obviously, spaces need the appropriate physical elements like furniture or appliances, but aesthetics play a role as well. We get more out of our spaces because of the aesthetic elements. [00:08:00] It’s more than just needing a desk in the office and having a couch in the living room. I think people with disabilities get overlooked when it comes to this. I’ve seen so many designs where someone clearly thought, well, this has the elements someone physically needs, so that’s good enough. But it’s not. Just because someone may have a need for certain physical accessibility features in their home that others may not, doesn’t mean that that becomes the only thing that they need. They are impacted just as much as the average person, by the way, that their space makes them feel.

Sarah: Those are really good things to think about. And this actually made me think about the transition of people going from a hospital back to their home. Most hospitals and rehab centers have worked to make things as functional as possible for their patients. And notice I say most because some don’t, and that’s a soapbox for another day.

But to my point, the sterile hospital setting, [00:09:00] can often have functional features like wide doorways, open floor space, easy to reach storage, big showers, and all the helpful equipment that typically homes do not have yet. People often desire to be back in their own home and they don’t realize the compromise on function they will encounter when they get back there. As a therapist in inpatient rehab, I’ve heard things like, “I can’t wait to get back to my house. I’ll get better faster there.” Yet often the coziness of their space and the familiarity of being home is what they desire while the sterile hospital environment is more physically functional and safe for their needs. point is that, and I think that’s what you were saying too, Kelly, is that it can go hand in hand and it’s just not normally seen that way.

Kelly: Absolutely, it can and it should go hand in hand. I heard patients in the hospital during my acute care fieldwork [00:10:00] rotation, say these kinds of things all the time. Though home may be missing really vital physical accessibility features, it offers the psychological benefits of comfort and familiarity, like you were saying, Sarah. That could start me on a whole rant as well about how hospital and rehab settings need to consider more aesthetic elements of design that bring comfort because it really does impact healing. That will have to be a topic for another day.

So the more that I thought about how elements of space have this ability to impact our reactions and moods, I looked into research behind this. It appears to be undisputed that these things are related in more ways than I even realized. We will describe some highlights of articles that I’ve found here in the pod, but if you want to read the full articles, they will be listed in the show notes in the order that we introduce them.

Rebecca: So the first resource Kelly shared that we wanna discuss is a 2003 article titled The Built [00:11:00] Environment and Mental Health. It goes into many examples of how design elements of a space impact wellness. For example, it was shown that furniture configuration set up to promote social interaction, decreased isolation and passive behaviors amongst hospitalized patients in psychiatric institutions.

Intuitively, this makes sense since humans thrive so much on connection, we’re very social beings. It makes sense to me that if a space is very segmented off or in some way makes it hard for people to connect and interact, this would take a toll on mental health. Another example was that high rise apartment living has been shown to negatively impact the mental health of mothers with young children, likely due to restricted play opportunities inside and outside their buildings.

Ultimately decreasing opportunities for interaction with others and increasing isolation. So that’s again, with the connection piece. One that will likely resonate with many listeners is the effect that daylight or lack thereof, has on mental health, which I believe has been validated several times since this article was published.

[00:12:00] We see seasonal depression clearly during dark months or in places in the world where there’s less sunlight, as people experience low mood and depression symptoms more frequently in those circumstances. Lastly, and this one speaks to me in a personal way, which our listeners will know if they’ve listened to our episode about designing for dementia.

This article shared that people with Alzheimer’s disease adjust better to small homeier facilities with less simulation. Since we did a whole episode pretty much about this. I won’t get too into the weeds here, but we’ll link that up in the show notes if you wanna check it out.

Sarah: I love hearing this research and Rebecca, going off one of the things that you shared. I personally can relate to the information about high rise apartment living, negatively impacting mothers. We lived for 13 years in an apartment because it was the most accessible thing we could find without building new. And six of those years were with a young child. The level of anxiety I had over disturbing our neighbors was [00:13:00] constantly running under the surface, plus the inability to easily get outside and find green space for our daughter and dog. Thankfully, we did have a lot within walking distance, but the ability to just open the door and say “Go outside and play!” Wasn’t available to us. There was a lot of compromise during that time that we had to endure due to the built environment, and that wasn’t even related to accessibility. Even after just over a month of living in a space that we are in now, those stressors have significantly been reduced.

Kelly: I’m really glad to hear that you’re already feeling the benefit of that additional space since your recent move, Sarah. Listeners, if you go read any of these articles, I say choose this one that Rebecca’s just highlighted. It has such impactful and abundant examples to reflect on. Ultimately, it made me think about how much more there is to consider in design than just physical access. Don’t get me wrong, physical accessibility is [00:14:00] monumentally important, but it fascinates me that it just scratches the surface of the ways that our built environment, especially our homes, impact our functioning. The next article we wanna share actually provides some more evidence for the impact of natural light on functioning. It is cleverly titled “Shedding Light on Light.” Obviously, ample light is important for functioning to ensure that everyone can see, but it also is vital for the body’s circadian rhythm or internal clock. Melatonin is a hormone that helps you feel sleepy. Natural light, especially in the morning, suppresses melatonin, helping you feel more awake. Alternatively, serotonin production increases during the day in response to natural sunlight, which is a neurotransmitter in the brain that helps regulate mood and alertness. Lack of exposure to natural light during the day throws off melatonin patterns, increasing depressive symptoms like fatigue and mood changes, which is seen in [00:15:00] people with seasonal affective disorder or seasonal depression Like, Rebecca mentioned before.

Sarah: This is just more evidence of how complex our bodies are and how external sources like sunlight and even our need for the vitamin D it provides, can boost our mood, relieve pain and reduce depression. Knowing that it’s only helpful to configure our homes to promote wellness. I love the quote in the introduction of this article. “Light is a source of life, of wellbeing, of energy, and positive power essential to almost everything happening on earth.” Lots of good stuff here. Kelly, I know that you found some other great research. What other aesthetics in the home impact our wellbeing?

Kelly: Up next is organization. There is significant research into the impact of clutter versus organization on our functioning. In my mind, the organization of a space is definitely part of its aesthetic. [00:16:00] The human brain has an inherent preference for looking at things with symmetry, repetition, and predictability. can think of lots of ways that this shows up in home design, from kitchen cabinet fronts all being the same size and color, or the visual repetition in how most beds get a row of matching pillows. We like things that match and repeat because our brains seek predictability and order. All that to say there’s a reason looking at a pantry wall of color-coded neatly organized food items is so satisfying on this topic. Have you guys ever heard of The Home Edit?

Rebecca: I have not, but I’d love to hear more, especially because you’re mentioning it in the context of color coding and organizing, which are two of my favorite things in the whole world. So, please say more.

Kelly: For sure. Okay, so then Rebecca, you absolutely have to watch their show. You will love it. The Home Edit is a company started by two best friends with [00:17:00] the goal of reinventing traditional organizing and merging it with design. I remember binge watching their Netflix show a couple years ago where they would go into people’s cluttered, non-functional homes and completely make over the space with new organizational systems. Clearly from their popularity, many people find it satisfying to see a space organized well. Beyond its visual appeal, organization has a massive impact on function. Negative correlations have been shown between clutter and things like productivity, stress management, and anxiety. A cluttered workspace can overload the brain’s processing capacity as it spends more effort filtering out the visual noise to focus on the task at hand. Clutter has also been shown to increase cortisol levels, which is a stress hormone, so think of how that impacts your ability to relax and get good quality sleep if your bedroom feels chaotic and disorganized. [00:18:00] Also, very practically, disorganization decreases efficiency. A survey from 2017 showed that Americans spend two and a half days a year searching for misplaced items. Organization is really important for anyone, but especially with decreased memory or executive functioning from things like traumatic brain injury, stroke, developmental and intellectual disabilities, ADHD, sensory processing disorder, and probably lots more. If a task is already complex with the steps involved, not having to search for items is a preventable way to improve functioning.

Sarah: And even if you don’t have an impairment, that makes this task more difficult, it is extremely frustrating to try and find that misplaced item much less when you’re strapped for time and headed out the door. Doesn’t it always happen like that? Okay, two and a half days a year is just ridiculous impairment, or not even just the ability [00:19:00] of your brain and eyes to scan a cluttered environment quickly to find the item is stressful. It’s often right in front of your face or halfway buried under something else. I always say it’s important for things to have a home with other like things so our brains can recognize and remember where something is. This also has an impact on productivity as well. We just moved and we have boxes everywhere. I can easily get overwhelmed by all of the things I see and I need to do, and that definitely impacts my productivity. I want to be settled, but also figure out what to keep, where to organize it, and when to work on it. Kelly, you’ve also found an interesting article about productivity and mental health for people doing telework, and it was interesting some of the categories it studied, including temperature regulation, air quality, of course, the look and feel of the space, plants, noise, fatigue, and more. Was there anything else that you wanted to point out about productivity and [00:20:00] some of those factors?

Kelly: Yes, definitely. The article that you’re mentioning, Sarah, focused on telework within the era of COVID. Of course with COVID, we saw a massive increase in the amount of people having to work remotely from their homes. This gave researchers an interesting opportunity to study environmental impact on productivity. Amongst their findings, they learned that people who did not have a dedicated office in the home and or those who were dissatisfied with what they termed indoor environmental quality or IEQ factors, so things like noise, the visual environment, temperature, air quality, reported increased depression, stress disengagement, mood changes, poor concentration, and even sleep quality issues. Alternatively, elements of the home like ample, light greenery, and having a view of the outside, [00:21:00] showed importance for concentration, mood, and wellbeing. So it’s like I mentioned earlier in this example, we clearly see that the aesthetics impact functioning. To be productive and manage your stress well while working at home, you need more than just a desk in a room. The same goes for sleep. You can’t just have a bed plopped into any environment in order to get good quality sleep. Obviously, things like temperature and noise are aspects of the environment that impact our sleep, but we’re talking about aesthetics here, so I have some more applicable examples. I found two articles that talk about how interior design of a bedroom influence our rest. Both articles emphasize the role of soft indirect lighting and calming colors on sleep quality. Dimmer switches or warm low intensity bulbs can facilitate melatonin production in the evenings and create a relaxing environment. [00:22:00] I know it’s a trend online to talk about the horror of the big light, especially at night. is referring to the ceiling light meant to illuminate the whole room. Because this can take away the cozy feel. Color theory is its whole own area of research in which there’s a lot to discuss, but the articles I’m mentioning here point to blues, greens, and earthy tones as calming for the bedroom space versus vibrant reds or oranges, which have the potential to be activating and energizing.

Rebecca: Yeah, this all kind of intuitively makes sense, but it’s nice to really break it down like this. So thanks Kelly. Also, just wanna hop in here with a quick plug for our previous episode. If you’re interested in learning more about the impacts of color. A previous student at The Universal Design Project did some research and we chatted about paint color and universal design in episode number 74, which we will link in the show notes.[00:23:00]

Kelly: Great plug. Yes, she goes into it in more depth, so go check that episode out. The last article I want to highlight talks about sensory processing of certain colors. I talked a lot about sensory processing in my last podcast episode with examples of environments in the community, but not in relation to the home. As you can imagine, there are many ways the sensory environment of the home impact function and wellbeing. Much of the examples we’ve already shared in this episode thus far would fall into this category like visual clutter, color, and lighting. The ways we experience those elements of our space are all mediated by our sensory processing system, and everyone processes their environment differently. There are two research articles actually that specifically studied how children with autism react to different colors. I will link both of those articles in the show notes. One of the studies titled, [00:24:00] “Atypical Color Preference in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder,” that children with Autism were significantly less likely than their peers to prefer yellow and more likely to prefer green and brown. The authors described that this was likely due to how children with autism process sensory input differently than others, and they likely find yellow to be overstimulating. Pod, episode 74 that Rebecca just mentioned actually describes this research article further if you’re interested. This was so fascinating to me as it is empirical evidence of a difference in functioning because of a color. I can infer that a classroom painted yellow would decrease a child with Autism’s ability to focus and participate as their brains are busy filtering out the visual noise of that color.

Sarah: I can attest to this as well. We used to live in our apartment and our hallway was painted bright yellow, and you walked out the door was just a [00:25:00] very overstimulating experience. So I find this very fascinating in that this answers why I felt that way. And I love a little reminder of how much color plays a part in our ability to process information, even if we don’t have a conscious realization of it. Now we can point it out for what it is if we’re feeling even more overstimulated.

Kelly: Definitely. I’m glad that you have some rationale behind that feeling now, Sarah! So to conclude this section of presenting, all of these research articles, say OTs love to use the term occupational wellbeing, which refers to whether or not someone is able to perform the occupations that are valuable and important to them within their current circumstances. These occupations would be things like work, sleep, socialization, and more. I think it’s been made quite clear from the examples that we’ve been sharing that the aesthetics of our [00:26:00] spaces play a role in helping or hindering our ability to do those things and therefore our occupational wellbeing.

So now switching gears a little bit here for this next section of the episode. I wanna talk about how the aesthetics of traditional design for disability, including adaptive equipment, impacts function. I mentioned before that I feel like people with disabilities are overlooked when it comes to the value of considering the aesthetic elements of a design. Design for this population has historically been very utilitarian, which literally means prioritizing function and practicality over aesthetics. This has led to stereotypes and preconceived notions around the look of accessible design and equipment.

Sarah: Yes. I was talking to someone just the other day who was talking about a house that she wished her parents would move into because she said it was just so [00:27:00] cute!

She said, “And if they had to get one of those stair lifts in the future to go up and down the stairs, they could.” Now I get the idea, but that stairlift would definitely not keep the charm of that house. Yet, that is just what our brains are conditioned to go toward with these utilitarian designs, because that’s all that is available and it’s all over the commercials for options to change your house as you age. And we throw up our hands and say, oh, that’s just what we do. But shocker, if we build universal design that’s pretty and aesthetically pleasing from the start, we don’t have to make that compromise and we don’t have to add in that stairlift into that cute little house.

Kelly: Yes, definitely. And, you know, I also think that it’s unfortunate because those utilitarian appearing designs sort of discourage people from putting e lements [00:28:00] in their home that will help them function. There were multiple times during OT school when a professor described an anecdote related to this. For example, when teaching us about bathroom equipment and modifications that OTs commonly provide, a professor shared experiences where clients didn’t want to implement her recommendations because of the associated look. In that same class, I remember my teacher saying, you could offer this different option instead, if they care more about the look. Such as a grab bar that swings up out of the way when not in use, instead of a raised toilet seat with handles. Numerous professors I spoke to noted similar experiences with clients throughout their careers. One who worked in home health told me sometimes she would show up to a client’s house who had been discharged from inpatient rehab days or weeks prior and find the adaptive equipment on their porch unopened. When asked why clients would say that it’s ugly or it doesn’t fit into their space. [00:29:00] She said she thinks aesthetics is one of the number one reasons for adaptive equipment abandonment. Or not even taking recommendations for modifications in the first place. There’s even empirical evidence for this. A 2014 research study on factors influencing acceptance of adaptive equipment for aging in place, community dwelling, older adults expressed concern that the appearance of adaptive equipment may be too, and I quote, noticeable or obtrusive in their homes. I will link the article to this study in the show notes if you wanna learn more. Another example was a toilavator which is a very inconspicuous way to raise a toilet for ease of transfers on and off as it goes on the bottom of the toilet out of the way. This compared to an elevated commode seat that is placed over the top of your existing toilet. Those two things have massively different aesthetic impacts on the space, which I don’t think [00:30:00] should be understated or ignored when we’re giving recommendations and collaborating with our clients, because for many people that’s really important. Ultimately, the aesthetics of an individual piece of equipment or home modification impacts someone’s willingness to adopt those things and therefore function at their best. I think it’s always better to find a solution that your client will actually adopt, even if it is not exactly what you’d have them do. The client is the one that gets to weigh the cost benefit of their level of comfort with something and the associated risk of going without it. But it’s still our responsibility as OTs to be creative and provide as many options as we can. This makes me think of how a lot of OTs will tell clients with balance issues to remove all the throw rugs in their home, to reduce tripping hazards. And sure, this is the foolproof way to reduce tripping hazards, but it’s not the only strategy. Rugs add a lot of comfort and visual interest to [00:31:00] a space, and if that’s important to someone, there’s other options, they can look into vinyl mats, which tend to lie flatter on the floor. They could get adhesive tape for the corners of their rugs, they can recess rugs completely into the flooring, and I’m sure there’s more I’m not even thinking of. Rebecca, Sarah told me that you had a story our listeners may appreciate.

That is a great example of making adaptive equipment beautiful for someone who otherwise would not have wanted to use it.

Rebecca: Yes. This was a lesson that I learned on the job, during one of my fieldwork experiences in occupational therapy school. I worked with a client who needed to use finger splints, to basically preserve the integrity of the joints in her fingers so that she could continue to be able to use them.

But she was a huge ring wearer. She loved rings, she wore them every day. On the majority of her fingers. But she really didn’t want to start wearing clunky medical looking finger splints, though functionally [00:32:00] she very much understood that it would really help her, to be able to live the kind of life that she wanted to live doing the things she wanted to do.

We were eventually able to get her set up with some really nice, simple metallic air quotes here, splints that looked like stylish rings. And this was such a win because she felt like she was being herself and expressing her style and living in her value of style and aesthetics, but she was also taking care of her fingers in a way that helped her to continue to do the things she wanted and needed to.

So I think this is another really great example of where we can find ways to make something look good and feel good and, align with what we want aesthetically in a space or on our bodies. It can make it a lot easier to use it for the purpose that it’s meant for in a way that’s healthy and safe for us.

Kelly: Yeah, absolutely. Thank you for sharing that. I think it is a really perfect example of how powerful [00:33:00] aesthetics can be. Things like splints, canes, and even glasses are on us all day every day, just like our clothes. We have to feel comfortable with them and you demonstrated how OTs can and should be mindful of this in our work.

Sarah: All of this just highlights the wide untapped potential of how UD can be applied to so many things. Rebecca and I even did an episode about invisible UD, number 44, and that talks about more examples. I do wanna touch on one more thing you shared Kelly, and that is clothing. Trying to dress a body that needs to get dressed without standing or without a lot of finger function is pretty difficult. It’s also too often that you will find clothing that’s functional, but not that fashionable, and that definitely has an impact on someone’s sense of self and mental health. Who wants to just wear sweatpants all the time? Yet, these days there are so many cool clothing designers, catering to those who need different things in [00:34:00] their clothes from Billy shoes that offers a shoe that completely unzips, so you literally just set your foot down inside the shoe and zip it up. are lots of pants out there that are roomier in the bottom and they cut up higher for those who are seated all the time, so you’re not having to constantly pull your pants up. Also, there are magnets instead of snaps and buttons and even loops on zipper pulls for those who struggle with fine motor tasks. I’ve even seen shirts that a caregiver can slip over someone’s arms from the front versus over their head if that person can’t move their arms. I could go on and on here, but many of these designs are much more fashionable and functional than before.

Kelly: That’s so encouraging to hear. I think more and more designers are entering this space as they see the need. As much as clothing designers have a responsibility to create both functional and beautiful clothes for all people, interior [00:35:00] designers, furniture designers, architects, et cetera, have a responsibility to use their skills to create more thoughtful designs for this population. There are some fantastic pioneers in this space already doing this work, including Michael Graves design firm. I’ve had the privilege of speaking with both an architect and product designer from this company, this summer, and I’m continually impressed by how intentionally they incorporate beauty with function. They have a walking cane line bathroom equipment and collaboration with Pottery Barn for universally designed bedroom furniture that I think do this combination of aesthetics and function really well. I’ve been compiling resources like this whenever I encounter them, so I’ll be sure to share those as a part of my final project. If you’re interested in seeing different pieces of furniture or equipment that are beautifully designed.

Rebecca: Awesome, Kelly. [00:36:00] That sounds great. All of this has been really, really interesting and I am excited that we dived more deep. Into the aesthetics and how that relates to universal design, ’cause I think a lot of times we use some of the those words, but we never really dug into it quite this deep. So thank you so much and listeners, I hope you learned something new today.

I definitely did. And we’ll be back in your feed soon.