What is Ludic Design for Accessibility?

what is ludic design for accessibility?

Our goal is to build solutions that help people with disabilities (PwDs) negotiate the world better and overcome numerous barriers in every aspect of their lives. Ludic Design for Accessibility is our approach to design that keeps play and playfulness central to any such solution. The details of this methodology are presented here(refer to Manohar-Joyojeet book chapter).

WHAT IS LUDIC?

Merriam-Webster defines ludic as "of, relating to, or characterized by play : PLAYFUL.” The word originates from the Latin noun ludus.  We were inspired by the book  Homo Ludens,  by the philosopher Johan Huizinga, published in 1938, originally in Dutch.  The word Ludens  is the present active participle of the verb ludere, which itself is cognate with the noun ludus (from Wikipieda). In the book, Huizinga proposes that humans are better characterized as Homo Ludens,  since play such an integral and critical part of humanity.

WHy ludic design for accessibility?

Designers of solutions for accessibility have so far taken an intensely functional approach: identify barriers faced in performing a task or achieving an objective by a person with a certain disability and work out a solution that overcomes the barrier. The success of such a design is measured  by parameters that are amenable to measurement which all turn out to be very discrete set of objectives, decoupling them from the holistic business of living.  People with disabilities are people first and they also aspire to  lives  diffused with play and playfulness.  Hence our approach to keep play and playfulness central to any solution for accessibility.

Why is LDA especially relevant to the Global South?

People with Disabilities  are among the most marginalized populations wherever they live. Access to information, resources, opportunities for education and employment and even to statutory benefits are a struggle. The situation is exacerbated in the global south where the above is a struggle even for non-disabled but socially and economically disadvantaged populations. Thus  solutions that are created for PwDs  are expected to deliver measurable benefits to the target population since they consume scarce resources. The result of this pressure is that  there is even more focus on discrete functional aspects of their lives distancing them further from the possibility of leading a life that includes play and playfulness.

Elements of Ludic Design for Accessibility

The LDA approach starts from the basic characterization of play outlined by Huizinga:

1. Free Activity: A free activity standing quite consciously outside "ordinary" life as being "not serious", but at the same time absorbing the player intensely and utterly.  The players have the complete freedom to engage with the activity or not
2. Interest agnostic: An activity not necessarily connected with material interest, and no profit is necessarily to be gained by it
3. Bounded: An activity that proceeds within it own proper boundaries of space and time
4. Social: An activity that promotes the formation of social groupings

To this four, we add a fifth element:
5. Desired Side-Effect: The activity delivers some benefit or skill development to the end users of the artifact or activity, without detracting from the above elements.

Design for Interdependence

A dominant narrative in design for accessibility is that of making the person with disability independent of the need for any assistance. Laudable as this objective maybe, it ignores the reality of all our lives, that we are all interdependent in modern society. People with Disabilities are especially dependent on their family and immediate neighbors and friends in many aspects of their lives. However, far from this being a one-way dependence, PwDs contribute meaningfully to many aspects of the lives of their inner circle. Thus we believe that designing for amplifying the capabilities of the interdependent units is a much better and wholistic objective than isolating the individual with disability and attempting to 'liberate' the individual from dependence.
The ludic design approach we believe naturally engages with and empowers the interdependent units to engage better  with their lived reality: the nature of play that creates and nurtures a strong social group is key to this belief.

Is Ludic Design Gamification?

The difference between gamification and the ludic design approach can be captured with an example. Modern health apps encourage people to exercise and often do with some comparative metric in mind (against other individuals, against a median for their age, or against their own past performance). These are play, in a sense, since they appeal to an individual’s sense of enjoying a certain activity. One could interpret some of the key attributes of LDA as being present - it is a free activity, it has boundaries, and is social. But it is arguably not interest-agnostic, and the benefit is not the side effect. Instead, the example of a child rolling a tire with a stick is an example of a playful activity that ends up contributing to dexterity, athleticism and control. However, arguably unlike ’gaming’ the activity is fulfilling in and of itself, requiring no scores, no
audience, no comparison. This is play in its purest form incorporating all the critical elements of play. Thus, LDA is not gamification.

How can you get involved with the philosophy and practice of LDA?

Any one with interests in solutions for people with disabilities is welcome to join and contribute to the community:

If you are a person with disabilities; part of a disabilities people's organisation; a student interested in the areas of disability, technology and society; a researcher in the broad area of accessibility, including but not restricted to assistive technologies, HCI for people with disabilities, a social scientist in the area; a teacher of children or adults with disabilities; an NGO working with PwDs in any capacity; part of an educational institution with interests in accessibility; are a startup in this area.

To get started, read the details about the new methodology. We will be conducting workshops on the application of the methodology to different disabilities. Subscribe to our newsletter to keep up to date on workshops and programs.