LONDON , England ( CNN ) -- The future of design could see the divide between able-bodied and disabled people vanish . A toilet for all : the `` Universal Toilet '' caters for able-bodied and people in wheelchairs . Don Norman , design Professor at Northwestern University in Illinois , and the author of `` The Design of Future Things , '' is issuing a challenge to designers and engineers across the world : Create things that work for everyone . `` It is about time we designed things that can be used by ALL people -- which is the notion behind accessible design . Designing for people with disabilities almost always leads to products that work better for everyone . '' Once the champion of human-centered design -- where wants and needs of individuals are the primary consideration in the design process , Norman now believes accessible activity-centered design is a better approach . This approach creates designs by looking at the job a person needs to achieve in using a particular technology . Norman told CNN that including disabled people in this thought process would create better technologies for all people , regardless of their level of ability . `` Make cans and bottles that a one-handed person can open and guess what , many people will find it makes their lives easier when they only have one free hand . `` Showers and baths can be made better and safer for all . Make things better for the hard of hearing or seeing and guess what , similar benefits for all , '' he said . And technology like this is already being developed . Korean designers Changduk Kim and Youngki Hong have come up with the `` Universal Toilet , '' an invention that could end the need for separate able-bodied and disabled toilets . Tell us your ideas for machines or objects that could be adapted to suit disabled and able-bodied people . Despite such innovation , Norman said there would still need to be a shift in the mindset of many major companies . `` The most important first step is to increase the awareness of designers and companies of the need to accommodate everyone . The disabled are not just some small , disenfranchised group : they represent all of us . So the first step is education , awareness , and empathy . '' A change in the thought process of designers would also require support and active participation of people with the disabilities being designed for , he said . Norman also hoped for some more care to be taken with these designs . `` Finally , why are so many aids so ugly ? Why ca n't we rally the design community to make beautiful , elegant canes , walkers , wheelchairs , and other items ? '' Such an approach would aid the work of organizations like the Disabled Living Foundation , and Alison Wright 's British company EasyLivingHome , which specializes in inclusive interior design to meet the functional and aspirational needs of older consumers . Norman felt some of the best designs in existence were simple and very old . He believed computers are actually restrictive when it comes to being creative . `` Pencils and small pieces of paper are two of the best objects designed . When you take our computer tools they do n't allow us such flexibility . The good technologies are bringing that flexibility back . '' He said producing good designs was about making the object understandable , and not trying to base the design on a certain way in which people should use the technology . `` What we should do is understand the job the person is trying to do . Do n't try to predict what a human will do . You will get it wrong , '' he said . Some of Norman 's favorite technologies of the contemporary era include the Nintendo Wii , navigation systems in cars , and Google Maps with the option of being able to select driving or walking . He is not a big fan of the iPod 's design , and believes it has been successful primarily because of excellent marketing , the iTunes store , and other extras which can be bought to accompany the iPod . Norman was also supportive of users of technology could have input into how it functioned . He said 'mass customization ' where designers offer the purchaser the opportunity to add a personal touch to goods was increasingly common . `` I think it 's quite rewarding letting people design their own things . '' So , what does he see occurring in the future ? Norman said he was excited about 3D printing and the possibilities that could one day open up . `` I can imagine in the future if I was after something like a new dish-mat , I will be able to buy it online and by printing it it gets manufactured in my own home . '' He envisaged being able to purchase the raw materials for such items and then input them into the machine .
Professor of design Don Norman wants designers to be more inclusive . Two Korean designers invented a toilet for able-bodied and disabled people . Norman believes activity-centered design is the best approach .