Tailored Design for inclusion

Showcasing the same website to all of your users. Feels like sending the very same cover letter to a hundred companies, doesn’t it? It sounds fake and empty. But are we willing to change the way we design screens and brands, and let users choose which version of your website suits them the best?

Among designers you can sometimes hear the story of the cockpit seat (variant: the office swivel chair). I am pretty sure that it also applies, on a broader scale, to any practitioners involved in thinking of, and building relevant products and services for users. For instance, Simon Houriez, a ‘universal’ designer, mentioned this early case study of personalization in his Ethics by Design 2020 talk. It is the mere realization that one size does not fit all, that, actually it fits… no one at all.

So what is the story about? Innovators decided that it would be smarter to let every user adjust the height, size, etc. of their seat. That way, a unique but smartly-designed, adaptable product, could actually suit the needs of most of the users.

This could later be referred to as inclusive design or universal design.

Inclusive design

As Microsoft puts it in its platform dedicated to Inclusive Design: “Design for one, design for many”. Thinking strategically does not mean designing for a vague average user anymore. Instead, it means focusing on specific “stress cases” — as coined by Sara Wachter-Boettcher and Eric Meyer in their book “Design for Real Life”. It is all about designing in empathy with users who will use the service or product in a stressful situation. More broadly, it is all about bearing in mind creative constraints brought by users who just need specific attention.

At Idean, we also got involved in the topic. The UK studio published a set of “Cards For Humanity” that helps us assess Inclusivity of our projects. By pairing users who are usually left behind, or not enough considered in the (design) world, it enhances creativity and broadens the project’s positive impact. You can try the cards out, too!

Universal design

Universal design, as defined by the United Nations, means “the design of products, environments, programmes and services to be usable by all people, to the greatest extent possible, without the need for adaptation or specialized design. “Universal design” shall not exclude assistive devices for particular groups of persons with disabilities where this is needed.” It aims at being inclusive, too. It shows that products and services should adapt to the users, and not the opposite.

Application to real clients — who do not necessarily make inclusive design a top priority

Even though accessibility (in terms of color contrasting, hierarchy of information, etc.) has made its way in the law and thus in the client briefings, we get at Idean, and while our UX, UI and strategic designers include its principles early on in the projects, inclusive or universal design is a little bit more difficult to advocate.

It is still perceived as ‘designing for the minorities’. We are talking about these forgotten users who are at the sides of the Pareto curve, too extreme to be taken into account, as explained by Simon Houriez. Thinking in terms of “a majority of homogenous users” (who makes up 80% of the total users) implies that users who bear the most constraints (approximately 20%) are (usually) left behind from the earliest stages. And, if we are honest, most of the time, there is no real intent to include them later. It is a way to reduce complexity in hope to address more users.

But we can change the brief! We can challenge projects and take them just a few steps further in terms of diversity and inclusion. At least, that is my vision of Purpose at work. Therefore, I would like to suggest two concepts that I feel are easy to implement on an existing client website, as a soft introduction of inclusive/universal design to our clients. As most of the clients I work for belong to the Financial Services sector, let’s assume the examples that follow are based on a banking website.

Adapting dreams thanks to visuals

My first proposal is all about letting users change a set of visual, or individual visual, in order to match with their own dreams and aspiration. Going beyond age and ethnicity that a specific client might want to see reflected on the website — it is their dreams and projects that matter. It can be annoying, harmful, or just commercially meaningless to display a happy couple with young children moving in. What if having children is just not part of their life goals? Similarly, they do not care to see someone moving in a cool loft in LA if their dream is to live in a renovated farm or a shed in the woods.

So, how about letting users choose from sets of visuals, or even uploading their own? 🥁🥁🥁

Users could swap and select their favorite visual profile, according to their own life beliefs and ambitions, and even upload their own pictures, and use the website as an inspirational, tailored moodboard

Adapting dreams thanks to tone of voice

The second proposal comes from the idea that not everyone uses the same level of vocabulary. It might come from education level, but mostly I would say from the degree of familiarity you are willing to accept from a brand. Or even your mood of the day.

Maybe you feel that banking services are too cold, too distant, and you would enjoy some warm lines and even a few jokes from the brand from time to time. On the contrary, maybe you expect banking to be as serious as it should, and keep a respectful distance. And this can change throughout the day.

It is then a challenge for the brand to show that it can exist within these multiple contexts (ie. vocabulary levels), and carry its identity through, instead of the users having to adapt.

Following the same concept, it would be suitable to let users choose which tone of voice they want to be addressed with. The challenge — and the effort — is therefore shifted. The brand would adapt to the user, not the opposite.

Both proposals question the notion of brand identity — to what extent can it be flexible, to what extent should we protect its consistency? Plus, acknowledging the “mood versatility” of the very same person during the course of the day and using it as a new case might trigger more radical changes during the design phase. The conversation is open!

Arguments to convince your team, boss, and clients

1. User Research. When carrying out social listening and analyzing comments left on app stores for one of our banking clients, a user clearly expressed a need for change: [translated from French] “Could you change the opening picture [on app] more regularly? I am tired of seeing this woman at her balcony. Please, bring some life! Think of the women who might want to see a man for instance. Bring some more variety 😉”
2. Brand refresh. Users get used to seeing the same pages over and over, especially in the banking sector, where people go online to check their bank account on a daily basis. This would be an opportunity for the brand to show multiple faces and always feel exciting and alive to their clients.
3. Client knowledge. When setting up the right metrics, these tactics are actually nudges to trigger a richer profile completion, in exchange for a more personalized advice (service has to be on point, too).

Limitations and opening

In regards to the exploratory concepts presented above:

1. Tailored-design or personalization is just one possible expression of Inclusivity. An extensive and systemic approach is needed!
2. I am aware that a website with… no images would be both more sustainable for the planet and more inclusive.

For this, I would like to refer to the notion of digital sobriety, as coined on the Chaire Diament website (in French), designed according to these principles.

Nevertheless, let’s look at these proposals with an eye of “transition”.

Indeed, we need to take into account the reality of what our clients of the Financial Services sector are willing to accept or not in terms of website design. That being said, I see it as an opportunity to investigate further what is the true cost of not taking as many users as possible into account early on in the project. And prepare strong arguments in favor of a more inclusive and universal design!

As far as the clients are concerned, deleting all images and videos from the website is not an option. Yet. (But we could play around that and compress and recolor them just like Solar-Powered Low-Tech Magazine gracefully did!)

Thank you very much for reading! 🙏
I am Camille, a French Design Strategist and User Researcher working at Idean Paris, a global design agency. I am exploring various ways to offer more inclusive experiences in the services I design. I believe that designing for users who are seen as “a minority” can benefit the majority of users. My inspirations come from — but are not limited to — Sara Wachter-Boettcher (the author of “Technically Wrong”, Erin Meyer (international management consultant) and Simon Houriez (universal service designer).