Oct 3, 2018Member-onlyHow Bad Design Perpetuates Harmful StereotypesSpecialized solutions for disadvantaged people often have more to do with negative perceptions than actual needs — There’s a rise in interest in designs that have a positive social impact. A number of projects are focused on “designing for” a community of people that’s presumed to be disadvantaged. New technologies for students in developing countries. Design contests to create solutions for elderly people or people with disabilities.Design9 min readDesign9 min read
Published in AIGA Eye on Design·Aug 28, 2018Member-onlyWhat We’re Leaving Out of the Discussion Around Inclusive DesignTo truly achieve inclusiveness, we need to first look at who we’re excluding. — As you may have noticed, there’s a growing focus on inclusion in the tech industry. Specifically, there’s a rise in the use of the word “inclusion.” …Accessibility4 min readAccessibility4 min read
Apr 4, 2018The Flood | 50,000 gallons and 35,000 wordsMy first mistake in writing a book was assuming that I’d simply expand on stuff that I’d already written. I had spent years researching, practicing, and writing about inclusive product development. My team and I had worked with thousands of engineers, designers, and leaders to apply these methods to their…Design3 min readDesign3 min read
Mar 30, 2018Mismatch | How Inclusion Shapes Design“Disability is a mismatched interaction between the features of a person’s body and the features of the environment in which they live” — World Health Organization, 2011 World Report on Disability In April 2017, I left a perfectly good job at a large corporation to start my own company, dedicated…Accessibility1 min readAccessibility1 min read
Feb 1, 2018John Maeda & Kat Holmes on Designing for InclusivenessWe all feel it — our technology feels like a century ahead of us, while our behaviors are reflective of decades before us. The systemic issues in the lack of inclusiveness in design, tech, and hiring reveals a profound cultural failure. …Diversity9 min readDiversity9 min read
Jan 20, 2017The Art of a More Perfect UnionI’m sitting at the base of the White House. Public Enemy’s Fight the Power fills the air. The preamble of the Constitution is running through my head. And I feel, in this moment, anything is possible. In his Thank You note, President Obama asserted that “the single most powerful word…White House4 min readWhite House4 min read
Published in Microsoft Design·Oct 15, 2016Who Gets to Play?“Inclusive Design doesn’t mean you’re designing one thing for all people. You’re designing a diversity of ways to participate so everyone has a sense of belonging.” - Susan Goltsman, Founding Principal of MIG, Inc., co-author of Play for All Guidelines and The Inclusive City. Where did you love to play…Design5 min readDesign5 min read
