Institute for Human Centered Design (IHCD)

About us

The Institute for Human Centered Design (IHCD) is an international education and design non-profit organization committed to advancing the role of excellent design in expanding opportunity and enhancing
experience for people of all ages, abilities, and cultures. IHCD was founded in Boston in 1978 as Adaptive Environments and changed its name on its 30th anniversary to have a name more reflective of current work.
IHCD’s headquarters remain in Boston though some of the team work remotely in other parts of the US.

Mission
We are committed to advancing the role of design in expanding opportunity and enhancing experience for people of all ages, abilities and cultures through excellence in design.

IHCD meets its mission through an unusual mix of education, technical assistance, consulting, research and
interdisciplinary design services.

Our Core Beliefs
• Design is powerful and profoundly influences our daily lives and our sense of confidence, comfort, and control.
• Variation in human ability is ordinary, not special, and affects most of us for some part of our lives.


IHCD has been home to the New England ADA Center since 1996. The New England ADA Center is one of 10 regional ADA Centers comprising the ADA National Network. Since 1991, the ADA National Network has provided information, guidance and training on the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), tailored to meet the needs of business, government and individuals at local, regional and national levels.
While the New England ADA Center provides access to information and guidance on disability rights laws and codes, IHCD provides education and consultation about best practices that go beyond legal requirements to design places, things, communication and policy that promote design that works for everyone across the spectrum of ability and age and enhances human experience.

Services:
• Education: Opportunities for learning through IHCD include a Lunch & Learn series, trainings, workshops and events. Internship and fellowship opportunities are also available all-year-round.
• Consulting: Our scope for consulting includes, among others, plan reviews, assessment of accessibility in the built environment and testing of digital and web accessibility.
• Design: IHCD works with entrepreneurs, designers and businesses to evaluate concepts, prototypes or existing designs to assess usability for the widest possible spectrum of people.
• Research: IHCD has an established database of user/experts, chosen for each opportunity to find the best match between the person and the project.

Inclusive design is design that works for the widest sepctrum of users without the need for specialized adaptation, It centers around the user experience with a focus on social sustainability. IHCD uses the World Health Organization’s Definition of Disability as the foundation for our consulting and research work in the field and in our user/expert lab. We believe that good design must work not only for as many users as possible, but also enhance everyone’s experience.

Valerie Fletcher is the Executive Director of The Institute for Human Centered Design (IHCD).

For other net participants we can offer an expert guidance through trained staff, give an expert opinion, procure expert information and establish new contacts in the field of our work.