Open resources 📸

I do many presentations, both within and outside academia. When I present, I often use photographs I have taken or illustrations I create when writing papers or as part of preparing for a lecture. I frequently get asked if people can use my material. I always reply, "Yes, of course, you can." On this site, I gather and share the material I use most.

Photos

I have taken all the photos on this site. Please feel free to use them as you like.

Illustrations

Some of my most-used and requested illustrations are available on this page, along with some thoughts behind them and how I use them in my teaching and lecturing.

N.B. The descriptions of the different illustrations below are very brief. Please refer to the papers I list for in-depth exploration.

All vs most vs some vs none – have we built our society on too narrow a base?

Below is an illustration that I frequently use in my presentations. It is based on a bell curve over the population, where most individuals are in the centre while some individuals are on the edges, excluded/marginalised. This way of thinking is the foundation for how accessibility and usability are conceptualised in standards and guidelines.

I use this illustration to highlight, for instance, that while most people are at the centre, this is not where we can learn the most about what flexibility is needed to acknowledge and support human diversity. At the outer edges, among "extreme users", "edge cases", "fringe cases", etc., that's where the people who can provide knowledge regarding what they struggle with and what supports them can be found. That's also where the current non-users are. In the documentary "Objectified", Dan Formosa says, "If we understand what the extremes are, the middle will take care of itself." More information about the documentary is on Gary Hustwit's website. You can watch it for free over at DocumentaryHeaven.

📑 The illustration is used in:

• Hedvall, P.-O., Ståhl, A., & Iwarsson, S. (2025). Accessibility, usability and universal design – still confusing? Harmonisation of key concepts describing person-environment interaction to create conditions for participation. Disability and Rehabilitation, 1–10. https://doi.org/10.1080/09638288.2025.2491831.
• Hedvall, P.-O., Price, M., Keller, J., & Ericsson, S. (2022). Towards 3rd Generation Universal Design: Exploring Nonclusive Design. UD2022, Italy.

Collingridge's dilemma

I sometimes relate to "Collingridge's dilemma" in my talks. He said:

"When change is easy, the need for it cannot be foreseen; When the need for change is apparent, change has become expensive, difficult, and time-consuming." – David Collingridge

For someone working with access and use, like me, it is easy to recognise a similar dilemma: accessibility, usability and universal design need to be part of the design process from the very start when the least is known about the end results, and the potential for access and use is at its highest.

📑 References:

• Collingridge, D. (1980). The social control of technology. Frances Pinter ; St. Martin’s Press.
• Genus, A., & Stirling, A. (2018). Collingridge and the dilemma of control: Towards responsible and accountable innovation. Research Policy, 47(1), 61–69. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.respol.2017.09.012
• Hedvall, P.-O., Ståhl, A., & Iwarsson, S. (2022). Tillgänglighet, användbarhet och universell utformning. In V. Denvall & S. Iwarsson (Red.), Participation (p. 151–181).

Accessibility, Usability, and Universal Design

The terms Accessibility, Usability and Universal Design all play essential roles in what a person can do and contribute to. In the book "Participation", my colleagues and I elaborate on how the terms are conceptualised and how they relate to each other.

In my teaching, I use the model to describe how the three concepts provide different foci that all are essential as conditions for what a person can do and contribute to, i.e., for participation.

📑 Main reference for this illustration:

• Hedvall, P.-O., Ståhl, A., & Iwarsson, S. (2025). Accessibility, usability and universal design – still confusing? Harmonisation of key concepts describing person-environment interaction to create conditions for participation. Disability and Rehabilitation, 1–10. https://doi.org/10.1080/09638288.2025.2491831.

What do categorisations create?

One of our main research themes during the last years is "categorisation". In our research, we explore what categorisations create and what characterise categorisations that do not lead to inequality and stigma. In the pictogram below, I highlighted the separation into "woman" and "man" on toilet doors.

📑 References on categorisation:

• Ericsson, S., Wojahn, D., Sandström, I., & Hedvall, P.-O. (2020). Language that Supports Sustainable Development: How to Write about People in Universal Design Policy. Sustainability, 12(22), 9561. https://doi.org/10/ghrshm
• Ericsson, S., & Hedvall, P. O. (2024). Situation, Non-categorisation, and Variation—Conveying Nonclusion Through Text and Image. In Difference – Sketching, Visualising and challenging Universal Design in Sweden (Vol. 19, pp. 31–50). Design for All Institute of India.
• Hedvall, P. O., & Ericsson, S. (2024). From Inclusive to Nonclusive Design – A Shift in Categorisation. In Difference – Sketching, Visualising and challenging Universal Design in Sweden (Vol. 19, pp. 10–30). Design for All Institute of India.

The Problem with Inclusion

Inclusion involves choice. It is always done to someone by someone else. The illustration below is an attempt at capturing of being “included”.

📑 Main Reference:

• Hedvall, P.-O., & Ericsson, S. (2024). The Problem with “Inclusion”? It Is Done to Someone by Someone. In Universal Design 2024: Shaping a Sustainable, Equitable and Resilient Future for All (pp. 18–25). IOS Press. https://doi.org/10.3233/SHTI240978.