Erudite, accessible, and with an impressive breadth of reference, this engaging and highly readable book offers fresh historical and cultural perspectives on the fit/misfit binary. Focussing on how design both creates and responds to different notions of disability, it gives an at times fascinating alternative history of activism and identity through the study of the ISA – the International Symbol of Access.

Kaite O'Reilly, winner of the Ted Hughes Award 2011

Elizabeth Guffey's search for the origins of the International Symbol of Access takes her on an unexpected path, discovering not only the history of the modern wheelchair but a new perspective on disability at the intersection of design, the body and space… and most readers will delight in following her quest.

John Radford, Emeritus Professor of Critical Disability Studies at York University, Toronto, Canada

Informed and erudite, Designing Disability shows how the analysis of a single symbol can act as a gateway to discussions of disability theory and history. Elizabeth Guffey's critical insight augments and develops our understandings of disability experiences and subjectivities.

Stuart Murray, Director of the Centre for Medical Humanities, University of Leeds, UK

From the invention of the modern wheel chair and early critiques of disabling design conventions, Guffey makes a history of the international symbol of access come alive. An original and insightful analysis that furthers our understanding of both the symbol's history and associated access debates. This book will appeal to appeal to students and academics across a range of disciplines, shedding further light not only on a symbol and its history, but also how disability continues to be socially produced.

Hannah Macpherson, Senior Lecturer in Human Geography at the University of Brighton, UK

Design Incubation is excited to announce Elizabeth Guffey's latest book published by Bloomsbury Publishing, titled Designing Disability: Symbols, Space, and Society. This book describes the development of disability as an idea. Disability, accessibility, its institutionalization, acceptance, and integration is considered within the context of design history.

Design Incubation / Research in Communication Design

I encourage anyone to read this important book... it should catalyse reflection and discussion about the implications for disabled people and non-disabled people, designers and design-and provoke new directions in disability-led design.

Graham Pullin / Design for Health