George's post/musing on the universality of design got me thinking...*is* there such a thing as Universal Design?
I guess designed objects can be usable by a range of differently-abled people...but then something is lost...maybe it gets washed out.
i wish i could reference more than one post...Christian Etter's recent post on the Globalization of Design points out the homogenization that occurs in the design world with the internet and trade shows.
I feel that if you try to do too much, to meet too many requirements, to serve everyone...i think something is lost. Cultural specificity. Appropriateness to a particular time and place. Local flavor.
Are the universal principles of Aesthetics? maybe. But you can't please all of the people all of the time. And who'd want to?
