Project Inclusive

Project Inclusive: Collapsible Table

Role: Co-designer / Industrial Design Student 
Focus: a specific daily-use problem, not a generalized idea of accessibility
Methods: interview, observation, prototyping, mechanism development, and use-centered iteration

Project Inclusive was a co-designed accessibility project developed alongside a client with disabilities and two occupational therapists from Thomas Jefferson University. The project started with a specific repeated problem in the client’s daily life: objects often ended up on his lap or armrest, where they could slide, fall, and create another problem to solve. The design response was a temporary surface attached to the chair — available when needed, out of the way when not, and shaped around Branden’s movement and preferences rather than a generic idea of accessibility. Designed with a person, not for a category of user.

Observation

Conducted a traditional ethnographic interview alongside informal observation and everyday questioning. Translated a recurring daily-use problem into a clear design direction: create a temporary surface that could appear when needed and disappear when not in use.

Form and Mechanism

Selected a tensioned surface to keep the unit light and reduce material use.

Drew from the structure of a fan or bat wing, allowing the table to expand in a half-circle from beneath one wheelchair armrest.

Gave the chair a more expressive quality that Branden responded to enthusiastically — somewhere between useful attachment and Batmobile feature.

Operation

Defined the attachment hardware first, then refined the interaction around range of motion and ease of use.

Used a large cap to keep the unit closed and minimize small, difficult hand motions. When removed, rubber bands at the opposite end allow the surface to expand.

Balanced rubber band tension through several prototypes so the table could stay open, remain stable, and still be easy to close.