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I know there is software (like SteadyMouse) and hardware (like big key keyboards, mouse adapters, mouse pedals, and so), that can make the use of a computer easier for people with Parkinson's Disease or mobility impairments.

While developing / programming is achievable (it might not take the same time, but it's possible top do it nonetheless), does the same happen with design?

I'm trying to think about design specializations that don't require that much precision with the mouse. Can you think of creative ways of working for someone who enjoys design, but has limited motor abilities?

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    I was once offered a position as "Creative" for an advertising agency. The duties were, quite simply, think up new ways to advertise products. There were absolutely no requirements for production, design, or anything else. It was purely an "idea" position and the only requirements were to be able to communicate the idea effectively to designers and production staff.
    – Scott
    Mar 8, 2013 at 2:49
  • Why don't you design for people with Parkinson's Disease or mobility impairments?
    – Andrew Welch
    Mar 19, 2014 at 13:08
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    Now and again, stories of people with handicaps of different sorts pop up, and how they manage to create. This is one source: pdf.org/en/gallery ...and my personal favourite was a russian calligrapher who did not let the disease stop him: he used it to develop a new visual language.
    – benteh
    Mar 19, 2014 at 16:12

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'Design' is a huge, broad concept and field of work. Since you're asking on Graphic Design, let's assume you're primary focused on that world. But even that is still rather large.

As Scott points out, much of design is about thinking. Strategic brainstorming, ideation, that kind of thing. I imagine you could do a lot with a white board and markers, for example. Some particular areas where that is a typical process would be in the world of User Experience Design, where you're more about designing an experience rather than a very specific visual element. There's lot of sketching in that world, but not necessarily a requirement of fine-detail level work.

And there are even some areas at a detail level where you still may not need to deal with a mouse. For instance, a skilled UI designer can often do a majority of their work right in HTML, CSS and JS. So your design tool becomes a keyboard rather than a fine-tipped pen.

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It is possible, however slightly more tedious I'd imagine. I used to work with a wacom tablet, but these days it is all mouse work, so it really depends on the type of work you are doing.

Most of my design work these days is corporate (print and banner ads, emails, signage) and not much more than cutting & pasting text and images, using my design knowledge/talent to arrange them. If you can find a job that doesn't rely on you illustrating, then it is surely do-able.

I have a Microsoft Sidewinder X8 mouse which, as a gaming mouse, has buttons on top to adjust the sensitivity on the fly. (I guess it was designed for people who play shooting games and wanted to quickly toggle their sniping accuracy) This might be useful if you need to get pixel-perfect with anything like selecting pixels in Photoshop.

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