Prime countertop washbasin in a contemporary bathroom: wraparound front edge on a floating shelf, large window onto the landscape

Case study: Design for All

Inclusive design and accessibility

Solutions that bring together design, function and accessibility, with an eye on innovation

Products, systems and places designed for the widest range of people: from the bathroom series developed with Goman to accessibility programmes for museums and devices born of co-design with their users.

Visit Rodighiero.Design for All (opens in a new tab)

Client: Goman
bathroom series: Flight, Flat, Prime and Shine washbasins, Giotto series
Other projects: Musei Civici di Bologna
with Design for All Italia; Sherlock with Hackability@Milano; Demì
Sector: Inclusive design and accessibility

Inclusive design and systems

Design does not end with the building.

Every space is truly experienced through objects, interactions, movements and everyday relationships.

That is why part of the group’s research focuses on designing products and systems that improve accessibility, comfort, independence and the quality of the user experience.

Flight washbasin: a sinuous white shaped slab, wall-hung on a dark wall below a mirror

Industrial design, ergonomics and inclusion

The projects developed through Rodighiero.Design for All (opens in a new tab) combine industrial design, ergonomics and inclusion to create practical, durable solutions that fit easily into homes, shared spaces and workplaces.

With Goman (opens in a new tab) the research took the form of a bathroom series: Flight, the universal washbasin in translucent Corian®; Flat, the made-to-measure washbasin; Prime, the first countertop washbasin coordinated with accessories and components, compliant with regulations and respectful of people’s dignity; Shine and the Giotto series, which move accessories from the realm of mobility aids to that of furniture.

A wider system

Products are approached with the same approach we use for architecture: not as isolated elements, but as part of a wider system of people, spaces, functions and relationships.

Musei Civici di Bologna: in an exhibition gallery a yellow arched portal marks the route between the works

From products to places

Making a museum accessible does not simply mean removing physical barriers or adding panels and special devices to an experience that has already been defined. It means questioning the whole system.

For the Musei Civici di Bologna, as part of the programme developed by Design for All Italia (opens in a new tab), Rodighiero.Design for All contributed to the methodology and design of the process: 12 museum venues, more than 10 co-design workshops, and over 400 needs gathered and translated into design criteria.

Areas of research

The research focuses in particular on:

accessibility;
inclusive design;
wellbeing;
ease of use;
integrating technology and experience;
sustainability and durability.

Prime washbasin on a dark top beside a window overlooking the city, with pendant lamps and red towels

The method

Co-design with the people who will use the project

Sherlock, the inclusive concierge developed with Hackability@Milano under the European ECOS4IN call, came out of an active co-design process with users with severe visual impairment: intuitive tactile navigation and structured audio descriptions of spaces, for accessible, independent wayfinding.