How Careem designs for inclusivity
With a region as diverse as ours, we thought we’d give you a look into how we try to design and ensure our design is inclusive.
Careem operates in more than 100 cities across the MENA region, Pakistan and Turkey which means our customer base of around 25 million has a wide range of ages, abilities and cultural differences.
Our Product and Experience & Design teams have a wide range of criteria to consider when it comes to creating an app that will cater to the individual needs of each of our unique users, but we recognise it as an important part of designing great products.
“Inclusivity and diversity is a pivotal topic for us, and we include it in every step of our product development process,” says Tamique Weekes, Product Manager. “We make sure we do a lot of user research in various markets, and we work with different people, including the visually impaired community, to make sure we create a seamless experience for all our Customers and Captains.”
According to the VP of Experience and Design, Nuzhat Naweed, “Our mission is unequivocally inclusive. When we say we want to improve and simplify the lives of people, we mean all people.”
To design inclusive products, our process needs to be inclusive as well, which is why we hire people from around the world. “To build great products, and for our platform future, we need different perspectives at the table,” Naweed continues.
Our design team alone consists of eight nationalities, and include interaction designers, UI designers, and UX writers, all working towards making Careem a product that anyone can use.And the Careem app is much more than just a tool for ride-hailing.
One of our Product Designers, Khalid Al-Jaaidi, explains: “The reality is, anyone can experience a disability at some point. A mother holding a baby only has one working arm. The sun hitting a Captain’s phone screen might temporarily obscure him from seeing the map. As designers, it’s our job to understand the person behind the screen.”
At Careem, we know that everyone benefits when we design for inclusivity. Which is why we will continue to strive towards building accessible, inclusive products for our diverse users.
