We're celebrating April Fools' Day this week with a ca. 1975 image of bouncing rubber novelty checks from Hagley Library's Marc Harrison photograph collection (Accession 2005.255).
While these "safe checks" document a silly side to the industrial designer, Harrison is better known as a pioneer of Universal Design. The design philosophy of the time was that products should be designed for those of average shape, size, and ability. Though the intention was that these products would work for as many people as possible, elderly people and people with disabilities often found products designed by this method to be difficult to use.
Harrison and others turned this philosophy on its head by deciding that products should be designed for people of all abilities. This was the pioneering of a philosophy that came to be known as Universal Design. Harrison incorporated this design philosophy into projects both at RISD and with his private consulting firm, Marc Harrison Associates.
Perhaps Harrison's most famous design to incorporate this philosophy was the Cuisinart food processor. Taking the previous food processor, Harrison redesigned it with large and easily pressed buttons, large and easily grasped handles, and bold easily readable typeface. The new design was a success. By designing a food processor that accommodated consumers with arthritis and/or poor eyesight, Harrison had created a product that was accessible to people of with a wider range of abilities. For Cuisinart, that meant a food processor that was extremely popular with the general public.
To view a digital collection that offers selections from Hagley Library's Marc Harrison papers (Accession 2193) and Marc Harrison photograph collection (Accession 2005.255), just click here!