We are proud of our work promoting inclusive design in Croatia.
This project, which ran from 2011-12, was made possible by a partnership we developed with the Helen Hamlyn Centre for Design, the Royal College of Art, the Croatian Designers Association and the School of Design, University of Zagreb.
What is inclusive design?
Inclusive design focuses on creating accessible products and services that can be used as widely as possible without specialised adaptation.
Zagreb inclusive design workshops
In 2011, we organised two five-day workshops in Zagreb with groups supporting disabled people.
Professional designers and disabled participants worked together to create products that have proved a great success: a large number of them are still on the market. They are on sale at a shop specialising in Croatian product designers in Zagreb city centre.
The groups involved were the Association for Promoting Inclusion and URIHO, the Institution for Rehabilitation of Disabled Persons by Professional Rehabilitation and Employment.
The project received considerable media attention and was awarded the Grand Prix at the regional D Day design exhibition in June 2011.
Osijek inclusive design workshops
Similar workshops the following year in Osijek resulted in two more product lines. This time we worked with Zvono, an organisation supporting young people with disabilities and NEOS, a co-operative employing former drug addicts.
Once again, the project won awards: the Croatian Designers Association best concept award for 2011/12 and an award from the Association Mrak, the Network for Development and Creativity, Croatia.
Launch exhibition at the Welcome Croatia Festival
Our work in inclusive design was celebrated at the Extra/ordinary Design Workshops exhibition, which launched the Welcome Croatia Festival in January 2013 in London.