What inclusivity frameworks already exist?
Currently, the best known framework for accessibility is the Web Accessibility Guidelines (WACG). It ensures that interfaces have simple, direct, and quick interactions for everyone. While this is hugely important, inclusive design goes far beyond accessibility alone; it also means designing an emphatic and conscious solution. It’s a mindset we must adopt to ensure that services and products (both online and offline) are open to everyone.
How to Design Inclusivity into Digital Services and Products
To get the best outcome from a design, it is important to be mindful about inclusion from the very early stages in the design process. Here are a few tips:
Tip #1: Start by considering all barriers different groups might encounter while using your product or service. This can be done by checking user profiles that commonly face barriers during any workshops with clients, stakeholders, and team members.
Tip #2: During the design process, look for gaps or pain points throughout the entire user experience. Books like Mapping Experiences by Jim Kalbach, are great to support this kind of visualization.
Tip #3: Run a research phase that includes participants that represent users and extreme users.
Tip #4: Constantly test the product or service and do iterations. Keep in mind that a small tweak can improve the experience enormously.
Tip #5: When designing a website, consider always making it responsive, as the designer’s equipment might not match the user’s.
Tip #6: Make sure the content is scalable. There are many people who experience low vision conditions like myopia, hyperopia, astigmatism, and others.
Learn More
If you would like to know more about inclusive design for either products or services (online and offline), you can check out these websites:
- https://www.microsoft.com/design/inclusive/
- https://idrc.ocadu.ca/about/
- https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2022/02/18/arts/alt-text-images-descriptions.html
By Irene Chambi (Tekton Design Tribe)