Navigating Inclusivity in User Experience
“UX design is about delighting users by anticipating their needs and giving them something they didn’t think to ask for.” — Reed Jones, Sr. User Experience Researcher at Autodesk.
“User experience design is the fulfillment of a brand’s promise and recognition that how customers’ feel has a huge commercial impact.” — Martyn Reding, Head of Digital Experience at Virgin Atlantic (What is UX design? 15 user experience design experts weigh in, 2019).
User experience can mean different things to people, depending on their needs, preferences, and abilities. For me, user experience has always been about creating inclusive and accessible designs for a diverse group.
Looking at my grandparents’ struggle with technology, which I found so easy to use, I realized that designs could be perceived differently by different groups of individuals. Inclusive design is an approach that ensures that a product or service is valuable, simple to use, and appealing to the most significant number of individuals. Accessibility bridges gaps and attempts to remove barriers for people with disabilities.
Microsoft’s Inclusive Design in Action
Microsoft’s inclusive design strategy speaks to me the most. Their approach to design recognizes that people have different abilities and needs and seeks to create solutions that everyone can use, regardless of their abilities. In his book Hit Refresh, Satya Nadella, the CEO of Microsoft, talks about how becoming a father of a son with special needs was a turning point in his life. This changed his design philosophy, and he understood the power of infusing empathy into his everyday actions, including creating products for Microsoft (Satya Nadella, Microsoft CEO: “The moment that forever changed our lives.”,2019).
One of the critical principles of Microsoft’s inclusive design is to consider the needs of all potential users from the outset of the design process. They state that exclusion occurs when we answer problems based on preconceptions, so they look for exclusions and use them to generate new ideas and inclusive designs. I like how they approach designing for inclusion. Their ideology of solving for one and extending to many is something I try to incorporate in my designs as well. Creating for people with permanent disabilities results in innovations that benefit people universally. For instance, a design made for someone with a permanent visual impairment would be helpful for someone with a cataract.
Microsoft’s inclusive design also involves implementing specific design features and techniques to help make products more accessible and usable for individuals with disabilities. A design feature that has come out from this is the closed captions. Closed captions can be used by someone who cannot hear. But it can also be used by people in loud, crowded surroundings or someone trying to learn to read a language.
Microsoft’s inclusive design approach has been recognized and applauded by the disability community and other stakeholders. For example, the company’s products and services have received numerous awards and certifications for accessibility, such as the Web Accessibility Initiative’s Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1 Level AA certification.
Shifting from a binary view to designing for intended experiences.
Along with all that, my thinking of user experience was limited to a very black-and-white way of thinking. I used to think a good and bad design existed and nothing in between. This judgment was based on my own experiences and thoughts about a particular design. What I thought was an inclusive design for me qualified as a good design and vice versa. Although this might not be a wrong way of thinking, it certainly was not the best. Through Prof. Erik Stolterman’s Experience Design course, which I took in my first year of master’s, I realized that it comes down to the product’s intended experience, which makes it a good or a bad design. This differs from user to user.
Designing for an intended experience can make a product more efficient and effective, leading to improved productivity and competitiveness, which can also positively impact the business that provides the product.
User experience design is an essential aspect of developing any product or service. However, to ensure that all users have equal access to and satisfy a product’s or service’s intended experience, I believe designers must consider the needs of all users, including those with disabilities. Furthermore, designers should consider each design as if designing for their future selves. As we age, the ability to experience declines in our sensory, motor, and cognitive capabilities, such as deteriorating vision and hearing loss. I think designers should strive to create flexible and adaptable designs, allowing users to customize the interface and interactions to meet their individual needs.
The Evolving Landscape of UX Design
Specific design principles need to be kept in mind while creating inclusive designs. The inclusive design begins with profoundly understanding the users’ needs, abilities, and preferences. This involves conducting extensive user research and testing and using this information to inform the design process. Inclusive design focuses on creating intuitive user interfaces that are easy to use and free of unnecessary clutter or complexity. This often involves using clear and concise language, simple and consistent navigation, and visual elements that are easy to understand. Furthermore, engaging users in the design process and incorporating their feedback and insights into the final design can help create designs for a diverse user group.
The future of user experience is a subject that has garnered much engagement in recent years as technology continues to advance and evolve rapidly. It is an exciting and rapidly changing field that has the potential to significantly improve the way that people interact with technology.
It is difficult to predict how the field of experience design will evolve. The domain will remain dynamic and rapidly changing as new technologies and trends emerge and users’ needs continue to grow. However, I believe that user experience will continue to include more inclusive designs and accessible features in the future that require a deep understanding of user needs and behaviors, technical expertise, and design skills. The future of inclusive design will presumably involve continued advancements in technology and design techniques that make it easier and more effective to create products, services, and environments accessible and usable by people with various abilities and disabilities.
One trend that can be seen to persist is the integration of accessibility features into mainstream design. As more and more individuals become mindful of the importance of inclusive design, and as more businesses and organizations recognize the economic benefits of designing for accessibility, accessibility will become a more integral part of the design process.
Another continuing trend is the development of new technology and assistive devices to aid individuals with disabilities in accessing and using products, services, and settings. This could include new assistive technologies, such as wearable devices or smart IoT devices, allowing those with disabilities to live and participate independently in society.
AI, voice interfaces, user data, and virtual and augmented reality are just a few of the developing trends and technologies that will impact the future of UX design. Inclusive design is an essential field with the potential to benefit individuals, businesses, and the community profoundly. By following the principles of flexibility, intuitive design, and compatibility with assistive technologies, designers can create designs that are inclusive and accessible for users with disabilities.
Similar to Microsoft’s commitment to inclusive design, which is a vital part of the company’s mission to empower every individual and organization to accomplish more. By designing products that are accessible and inclusive of everyone and embracing flexibility and intuitive design, I would like to redefine what user experience means to me — creating designs that allow a diverse group of individuals to experience the intended purpose equally, fostering a world where technology truly serves everyone.
