Selwyn Goldsmith's designing for the disabled, 2nd ed. (1967): Flawed, dated, and disavowed, yet a classic with enduring value

• Main Author: Elizabeth Guffey
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier 2020-01-01
• Series: She Ji: The Journal of Design, Economics and Innovation
• Subjects: Design for disability; Design studies; Universal design; Civil rights; Accessibility; Inclusive design
• Online Access: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2405872620300678

Though flawed, dated, and disavowed, Selwyn Goldsmith's 1967 book Designing for the Disabled warrants serious consideration by designers today. Published as a revision of the book's first edition (1963), the second represents a complete rethinking of questions of design and disability from an avowedly British perspective, challenging dominant American assumptions about the perils of dependence and the desirability of independence. Admittedly, Goldsmith makes some troubling assumptions about disabilities, and his language is now very dated. Moreover, in the 1990s, he disavowed the approach that he advocated in the second (and third) edition of his book. Even so, the ideals of interdependence and expression of care—and the approach to designing for disability—that he first articulated in the second edition feel more relevant today than ever.