Chapter 5: Design of accessible bus stops: Transforming the world

In this chapter, I consider how the design process can be brought to bear on making the bus system accessible and helpful in achieving the visions raised in Chapters 1, 2 and 3, and to meet the challenges put forwards in Chapter 4. To start, I present a brief discussion about the nature of the design process and how this is evolving given these challenges.

One of the core elements of the decision-making process is the design of potential solutions. I see conventional design as a combination of (1) a result of and (2) a process that encapsulates curiosity. The main design process – brief → conceive → test → consider → make → use – is complemented by other processes (identifying the desired outcomes, identifying and understanding the functionality required, determining the functions being made available and learning from these how much the process is meeting and extending the desired outcomes). It is also characterised by a number of iterative processes. The iteration between ‘conceive’, ‘consider’ and ‘brief’ is crucial in determining whether the conception can meet the brief and if any or all of these needs to be revised before proceeding to testing and making. This relates to the outcomes-based decision model, with its desired outcomes, success factors and limitations (encapsulated in the functionalities required and the functions delivered) leading to actions (the final design).