The disabled access sign was created by the Danish design student Susanne Koefoed in 1968, in the original version, the person on the wheelchair was missing a head; but in over 50 years the only thing that’s changed about the sign is the fact that it has a head.
There’s a lot of pressure to design something that’s recognised internationally; there needs to be an education system behind it to explain the change — that’s inevitable — but the pressure comes from including everyone that this sign is meant to represent.
At current, the accessible toilet sign recognises 8% of the UK’s disabled population (wheelchair-users). As we’re trying to be more inclusive and politically correct with everything we do in society, it’s important that we’re trying to include more disabilities in the signage.
Here are my initial concepts; some feature the current sign, but have aspects I’d like to develop, and other’s break away from the sign altogether.
None of them are perfect, but I know with some development and discussion with my team, we can create a strong piece of signage.
Katie Price 