Mingyao Wu

Disabled people are an important part of the community, however, a recent report by assisted travel campaign group Transreport, highlighted that 77% of British people do not understand the meaning of the current international symbol of access (ISA) (Transreport, 2022). Even though we can see this symbol in many situations, such as toilet doors, car parks and public transport.

Meanwhile, Gov.uk, the UK government web portal argues that the ISA is a contributing factor to stereotypes of disability. Many people have a concept of disabled people as wheelchair users, while non-physical disabilities account for more than 50% of disabilities (Gov.uk, 2021).

My project aims to define a more inclusive International Symbol of Access through information and data visualisation. In addition, my project is inspired by Data Humanism (Lupi, 2017) and Data Feminism (D’Ignazio and Klein, 2016). I want to empower UAL students and make the conversation about ability and representation more visible and accessible to a wider audience. My kit of parts encourages UAL to define their own symbol of inclusion. I have drawn on a co-design process to developed some possible directions, and am excited to see how others re-define and develop these starting points.