Words by Maisy Neale, Marketing and Communications Lead.
Earlier this month, we opened The Commons, a co-designed community garden installation at Midland Metropolitan University Hospital. As with all of Spectra’s work, the garden has been designed and co-created with radical inclusion at its core. This is reflected in the community co-design workshops and practical design choices in The Commons such as; reinforced wheelchair accessible paths; plenty of places to stop and rest; and different ways to explore and play in the garden.
When the physical space is so accessible, we felt it important that digital, web and marketing materials not only matched this, but enabled further access by using online content to help people feel more welcome!
Because The Commons is based at a brand-new hospital site, we wanted to ensure people felt comfortable in knowing how to find the space and what to expect when they visit – encompassing physical access, sensory information and clear but detailed information. This felt especially needed when hospitals can often be places full of anxiety and where service-users experience situations which may limit their agency.
For people for whom this information was best shared visually, we created a map, illustrated by the wonderful Louise Worrall and published on The Commons webpage. This map not only shows where the gardens are in relation to the hospital and surrounding roads, but also the layout of The Commons, the types of pathways, textures under foot or wheel, and positions of benches and places to rest, sit, or take a few moments to process. The map labels where there are steps and stairs, facilities, shelter or step-free access, as well as places to play and explore such as the stone pool, mosaics, tree stumps and meeting spiral.
To provide further accessibility information, we created a photo and text ‘Access Guide’ on the webpage presented as an accordion – a design term meaning you can find relevant information when you click on the drop-down headers, a bit like a musical accordion where the bellows are expanded when you pull outwards. This simplifies what could be an overwhelming amount of information, text and photos into clear sections to find relevant information. This felt like a good way to ensure there was not so much information that it became inaccessible and overwhelming, but that there was enough detail that visitors could find out what they needed to know.
This Access & Photo guide currently provides text and photos for five key areas:
- Travel and finding The Commons
- Step-free access
- Toilets and Facilities
- Food and Drink
- What to expect at The Commons.
Our aim is to enable people to make informed decisions as to what support they may need to use the space, and have agency over their visit to The Commons. As everyone has different access requirements and support they need to feel comfortable, we realise this guide may not work for everyone. Therefore we always encourage people to get in touch with us if there is anything we can do to help them feel welcome in the space. As more people use the space we may discover access information which is missing – the benefit of this being web-based is that we can update it as we have more conversations, gather feedback and host more events at The Commons.
The guide, as well as giving clear information on finding the space, facilities, and food, also provides detailed photos of the space including benches and the area to shelter. Accompanying this is a text-based sensory description of The Commons:
“The Commons is a community outdoor space next to a busy hospital. When you are in The Commons you may hear traffic from the main road, conversations from people at The Commons and accessing the hospital, noise from the building site next to the hospital and wildlife. Within The Commons, the wheelchair accessible paths are spacious, there are plenty of places to sit or rest and there is a space for shelter.”
When taking photos for the access guide, I noticed there were lots of sounds and noises which could not be communicated through photographs – whilst these will vary from day-to-day there were some sounds that will remain constant due to the location of The Commons; the road noise, chatter from busy hospital staff and machinery from the building site just over the road. The sensory description means this auditory experience is hopefully not a surprise and can be prepared for.
So, what is next? We are currently working on a film sharing The Story of the Commons – through workshops to completion. This mini documentary, by filmmaker Robert Alexander and with audio description by Karren Visser, has audio description embedded into the entire creation process and has been a new style of working on film for us. Additionally, an Audio Visual description of The Commons is coming soon and will be available via https://wearespectra.co.uk/the-commons/
We are continually learning about new ways to create spaces that are radically inclusive and accessible to everyone whilst recognising no space (both physical and digital) can be fully accessible. If you would like to discuss any of the content mentioned here, or have further ideas you would like to share, please get in touch with maisy@wearespectra.co.uk!