Technology solutions for accessibility have long been created using a narrow utilitarian lens, especially in the Global South due to multi-dimensional challenges and resource constraints .\u00a0 There is undue emphasis on purely functional outcomes supported by sterile cost-benefit analysis that ignores the fact that people with disability are people first with their own aspirations for leisure and enjoyment in addition to skills and employment. We propose an alternate design methodology called the Ludic Design for Accessibility (LDA) that puts play and playfulness at the center of all assistive technology design and use. We then describe a seven-step framework for designers to apply this methodology to create impactful solutions. Though LDA is universally applicable, we highlight the factors that make it especially relevant in the context of accessibility in the Global South.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Technology solutions for accessibility have long been created using a narrow utilitarian lens, especially in the Global South due to multi-dimensional challenges and resource constraints .\u00a0 There is undue emphasis on purely functional outcomes supported by sterile cost-benefit analysis that ignores the fact that people with disability are people first with their own aspirations for […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":654663,"template":"","meta":{"msr-url-field":"","msr-podcast-episode":"","msrModifiedDate":"","msrModifiedDateEnabled":false,"ep_exclude_from_search":false,"_classifai_error":"","footnotes":""},"msr-content-type":[3],"msr-research-highlight":[],"research-area":[13554],"msr-publication-type":[193721],"msr-product-type":[],"msr-focus-area":[],"msr-platform":[],"msr-download-source":[],"msr-locale":[268875],"msr-post-option":[],"msr-field-of-study":[],"msr-conference":[],"msr-journal":[],"msr-impact-theme":[],"msr-pillar":[],"class_list":["post-654639","msr-research-item","type-msr-research-item","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","msr-research-area-human-computer-interaction","msr-locale-en_us"],"msr_publishername":"Oxford university Press","msr_edition":"","msr_affiliation":"","msr_published_date":"2021-10-1","msr_host":"","msr_duration":"","msr_version":"","msr_speaker":"","msr_other_contributors":"","msr_booktitle":"Accessible Technology and the Developing World, Editors: Michael Stein and Jonathan Lazar,","msr_pages_string":"","msr_chapter":"","msr_isbn":"","msr_journal":"","msr_volume":"","msr_number":"","msr_editors":"","msr_series":"","msr_issue":"","msr_organization":"","msr_how_published":"","msr_notes":"","msr_highlight_text":"","msr_release_tracker_id":"","msr_original_fields_of_study":"","msr_download_urls":"","msr_external_url":"","msr_secondary_video_url":"","msr_longbiography":"","msr_microsoftintellectualproperty":1,"msr_main_download":"","msr_publicationurl":"","msr_doi":"","msr_publication_uploader":[{"type":"url","viewUrl":"false","id":"false","title":"https:\/\/academic.oup.com\/book\/39019\/chapter-abstract\/338294528","label_id":"243109","label":0}],"msr_related_uploader":"","msr_attachments":[{"id":654642,"url":"https:\/\/www.microsoft.com\/en-us\/research\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/Ludic_Design_For_Accessibility-OUP-pre-print.pdf"}],"msr-author-ordering":[],"msr_impact_theme":[],"msr_research_lab":[199562],"msr_event":[],"msr_group":[144784,602169],"msr_project":[573690,986193],"publication":[],"video":[],"download":[],"msr_publication_type":"inbook","related_content":{"projects":[{"ID":573690,"post_title":"Ludic Design for Accessibility","post_name":"ludicdesign","post_type":"msr-project","post_date":"2019-03-18 02:31:07","post_modified":"2025-01-16 10:11:04","post_status":"publish","permalink":"https:\/\/www.microsoft.com\/en-us\/research\/project\/ludicdesign\/","post_excerpt":"Ludic Design for Accessibility (LDA) that puts play and playfulness at the center of all assistive technology design and use.","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.microsoft.com\/en-us\/research\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/msr-project\/573690"}]}},{"ID":986193,"post_title":"Accessibility and Assistive technology","post_name":"accessibility-and-assistive-technology","post_type":"msr-project","post_date":"2023-11-21 06:26:01","post_modified":"2025-01-24 10:17:05","post_status":"publish","permalink":"https:\/\/www.microsoft.com\/en-us\/research\/project\/accessibility-and-assistive-technology\/","post_excerpt":"With Emphasis on the Global South The work on accessibility at MSR India has spanned the range from spatial audio with HoloLens to the use of feature phones to reach children with vision impairments and a spectrum of tangible toys to enhance numeracy for them, to a quiz platform for the Deaf or Hard of Hearing community, with an overarching new methodology called Ludic Design for Accessibility. 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