Inclusive Design in the context of psychological well-being
Inclusive Design or Universal Design is the design of buildings, products or environments to make them accessible to all people, regardless of age, disability or other factors. — Wikipedia
Practicing ‘inclusive design’ is an essential requirement today and designers are mindful of incorporating it into their daily practice. When speaking about inclusive or universal design, we usually associate it with designing for a wider audience such as those people that have physical disabilities or those that belong to an older age group. These descriptions address the physical conditions of users.
In digital design, we are mindful of designing for accessibility. Having a high level of color contrast for users having low vision, not using just color to represent critical information, supporting keyboard navigation are some well -known design practices for accessibility. Even these address the physical limitations of users.
Through this piece, I want to investigate design with respect to psychological inclusiveness. We are so conscious of designing for physical disorders, but do we think about psychological illnesses? Do our designs include and support those who suffer from psychological disorders such as anxiety, stress, depression etc.?
Approximately 1 in 5 adults in the U.S. — 43.8 million, or 18.5% — experiences mental illness in a given year.
— National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI)
Well, the obvious answer is no, not as much as they do for physical disabilities. That makes me question, why has this not been on the designer’s radar until now? What are the barriers that prevent us from practicing inclusive design with respect to mental and emotional health? One barrier might be that psychological illnesses are more complex and difficult to understand as compared to physical illnesses and that poses huge design challenges to address them.
Another barrier could be that psychological illnesses are not openly discussed in society in general because of the lack of awareness. A physical disability is faster to recognize and acknowledge than a psychological one, possibly because it is tangible and visible to the eye. So, for people to accept it as a part of themselves is easier as compared to a form of psychological illness. Also, psychological illnesses are not addressed as real problems by some. The society is accepting of physical disabilities whereas psychological illnesses might often be responded by insensitive remarks like “Oh, stop being so depressed!” Asking for help might be embarrassing, and might be considered as a sign of weakness. There is also the stigma associated with psychological illnesses which might prevent people from openly discussing it and seeking assistance.
Designers have been doing some good work in order to make people talk about this issue. For example, designer Sara Lopez Ibanez developed a self-assessment kit ‘Mindnosis’ that helps those who are suffering from psychological illnesses to figure out the kind of help they need and where they can get it from.
So, on one hand, there is work that is created specifically to cater to those suffering from mental illnesses, and on the other hand, there products and services that are designed to be used by a wider user group, that is, all kinds of audiences.
As designers, it is our responsibility to ensure through inclusive design that the experiences that people have with the products and services they use on a day-to-day basis support those suffering from psychological illnesses during difficult times.
What does Inclusive Design mean from a psychological perspective?
We are well acquainted with messages like “Hurry! Offer ends in 00:23:10 minutes!” Elements like timers and countdowns that create a sense of urgency can reinforce anxiety in those who suffer from it. Being mindful of giving users enough time to complete tasks might help in avoiding this kind of anxiety.
Online forms are also infamous for inducing stress in anxious users. Form labels that disappear when users fill in the required data lead to outbursts of panic and stress. How does the user know that he or she has filled in the information in the correct field? How might we design forms more sensitively so as to reassure users that the information that they have entered is in the correct place?
Those suffering from ADHD ( Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder) and Bipolar Disorder suffer from inattention. When many elements on a screen compete for attention, they find it difficult to concentrate on a single task. Design elements like animated GIF images on the loop can hinder the completion of a task for such users that suffer from inattention.
Other practices such as compulsory user registration and long sign-up processes, loss of data due to session time-outs, unpredictable behavior of apps or websites inducing feelings of powerlessness and helplessness affect the mental and emotional health of users and make matters worse for those who are already suffering from some form of a psychological disorder. Inclusive design from a psychological perspective would mean to be mindful about problems like the ones mentioned above so that we can address the needs of a wider set of users.
Current examples of Inclusive Design for psychological well-being
I did a quick search for inclusive design for psychological health and found that this concept has been discussed and implemented in small ways by designers before, especially in the area of digital design. Here are some examples —
1. Guidelines for designing for users with anxiety — Gov. of UK
Designers at Home Office Digital, a division of the Government of UK came up with a list of suggested design guidelines for accessibility. The poster below provides guidelines for anxiety. The other posters in this series addressed illnesses such as autism, loss of hearing, dyslexia, motor disabilities etc.
2. Design Patterns for mental health — Public Policy Lab and Snook
Public Policy Lab, a non-profit organization based in New York along with Snook Design Studio, an agency that works in the area of Social Innovation created a pattern library for digital mental health services so as to create more effective tools to support mental health. Here are some examples of their guidelines —
3. Inducing positive friction
Monzo, a UK based online bank came up with design concepts that could be integrated into their services to better support customers with illnesses such as bipolar disorder. When research suggested that people suffering from Bipolar Disorder make unnecessary purchases late at night during a manic phase only to regret it the next day, the designers at Monzo came up with a concept that allows users to confirm these purchases the next morning. It is currently just a design concept and might not be feasible for all purchases, but the team envisions that it might work through standard e-commerce norms like immediate cancellations or product returns.
Conclusion
With the growing recognition of the importance of mental health today, I expected to see a larger role of design in implementing inclusiveness with regards to mental health. I was disappointed when I found fewer implementations than I expected about this topic.
Given the complexity of psychological disorders, it seems unlikely that design interventions like the ones mentioned above can ensure complete effectiveness. Nonetheless, taking such smaller steps towards addressing this issue is a start to building a more inclusive future. Practicing universal design so as to include those with physical disabilities has been beneficial in solving problems of a wider audience. By practicing it to address psychological disorders, we can expect to be inclusive of a much wider set of users than before. With the growing prevalence of psychological disorders, it is time that we as designers become more sensitive and proactive about acknowledging and addressing this issue in our work.
A big ‘Thank you’ to Dan Lockton and Eugenia Perez for sharing their knowledge on this topic.
References:
https://www.nami.org/learn-more/mental-health-by-the-numbers
2017/https://developer.paciellogroup.com/blog/2018/11/a-web-of-anxiety-accessibility-for-people-with-anxiety-and-panic-disorders-part-2/
https://alistapart.com/article/designing-for-cognitive-differences
https://www.designpatternsformentalhealth.org
https://monzo.com/blog/2017/01/27/designing-product-mental-health-mind/
