International Symbol of Access

The International Symbol of Access (ISA), also known as the (International) Wheelchair Symbol, consists of a blue square overlaid in white with a stylized image of a person in a wheelchair. It is maintained as an international standard, ISO 7001 image of the International Commission on Technology and Accessibility (ICTA), a committee of Rehabilitation International (RI).

The ISA was designed by Danish design student Susanne Koefoed in 1968. It was first sketched at a radical design conference mounted by the Scandinavian Students Organization (SDO). The group organized a summer study session at Stockholm’s art and design college, Konstfack, alternating time between workshop sessions and larger lectures. In these lectures, the tone was set by the American designer and educator Victor Papanek. In the writings that he formulated during this period, too, he imagined persons who were disabled –both physically challenged and mentally—as figures in need of renewed attention. Although there is no evidence that Papanek met Koefoed, his influence pervaded the seminar where the original ISA was drafted. Charged with creating a sign-symbol to mark barrier-free accommodations, Koefoed presented an early version of the symbol at the July, 1968 exhibition held at the SDO seminar’s end. Koefoed’s symbol depicts an empty wheelchair. This icon was widely promoted around Sweden the following year.

Karl Montan, director of Sweden’s new Handicapped Institute, also promoted Koefoed’s design to Rehabilitation International. Head of RI’s International Commission of Technology and Accessibility (ICTA), Montan was asked by RI to form a special committee that would find and deliver a symbol to the group’s 1969 convention in Dublin. Montan’s group was asked to choose from six symbols. When Koefoed’s symbol was presented, several members complained that it was too austere and illegible. As Montan noted: "a slight inconvenience with the symbol is the equally thick lines, which may give an impression of a monogram of letters. With a 'head' on the symbol this inconvenience would disappear." Taking the original copy of the design, Montan would add a circle to the top of the seat to give the impression of a seated figure.

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