Designers have the ability to foster a sense of belonging when creating digital experiences by prioritizing inclusive design. An inclusive design philosophy goes beyond aesthetics and functionality. Inclusive design is a method to create products that understand and enable people of all backgrounds and abilities.
Inclusive Research & Design
Inclusive design puts users at the center of the design process, emphasizing empathy and understanding. It begins by involving users from diverse backgrounds and abilities in the discovery and testing phases. By including representative users in user research, usability testing, and feedback loops, designers gain valuable insights into the challenges faced by different user groups.
When prototyping design ideas, consider if you are representing historically marginalized groups in an authentic way through usage of images, graphics, avatars and language. Make sure that copy can be clearly understood by audiences of varying education and literacy levels. When designing for an international audience, consider how cultural factors could effect usage. Lastly, build diverse research and design teams with underrepresented talent so that ideas can benefit from a variety of perspectives.
When performing user research, it is important to our team to hear from a diverse audience
This human-centric approach allows designers to create intuitive and user-friendly interfaces, prioritize essential features, and ensure that the overall experience meets the needs of all users. Moreover, this inclusive research and design process helps challenge biases and assumptions, leading to more authentically inclusive solutions.
Accessible Design
Accessible design aims to create experiences and products that cater to individuals with varying abilities, disabilities, and diverse needs. By embracing inclusive design principles, designers can make their websites and applications accessible to a broader audience, including those with visual, auditory, cognitive, or motor impairments.
One way to make your designs more accessible is to consider the different lenses through which a user can experience your design. This can encompasses various perspectives, including physical, sensory and cognitive considerations. From a physical lens, it is vital to ensure that websites and apps can be accessed by individuals with different mobility levels. This involves designing intuitive navigation structures, providing keyboard alternatives to mouse interactions, and optimizing the content for assistive technologies such as screen readers.
From a sensory perspective, designers need to cater to individuals with visual and hearing impairments. This can be achieved by incorporating alternative text descriptions for images, providing captions and transcripts for multimedia content, and implementing color contrast that meets accessibility standards. Additionally, it is important to consider cognitive accessibility by presenting information in a clear and organized manner, avoiding cluttered layouts, and providing options for font sizes and reading preferences.
Inclusive Design is an Ongoing Journey
Bringing equal access to all users is an ongoing process. Many of us, myself included, are in the early stages of learning how to make our designs more inclusive. Designers can foster a sense of belonging and empowerment by including diverse perspectives throughout the design process. For businesses, inclusive design expands the potential user base, opening up new markets and opportunities. It promotes brand reputation and customer loyalty by demonstrating a commitment to diversity and accessibility. Additionally, it drives innovation, as diverse perspectives and experiences lead to fresh ideas and improved problem-solving.