By Ashini K Ekanayake
As inclusive design has become more prominent this digital day and age, leading to even greater opportunities for product design and development. Users have begun to have a greater emphasis on individuality and personalization, defining inclusion has become more difficult. Day by day, our world is becoming more and more digitalized, and we need to ensure that no one is left behind in our chase towards exponential growth in product design. Inclusive design is the practices of designing mainstream products which are more accessible and usable by as many people as possible without the need for specialized adaptation or design.
One of the core objectives of inclusive design is Accessibility. Accessibility in technology refers to ensuring that those with disabilities, be they vision, hearing, motor or cognitive, are included an can use a product comfortably. Hence, an inclusive product refers to one which can be used by as many people as possible. Converting Non-users to users is also one of the most important tasks when considering the reach of a product. Engaging in inclusive design allows the products reach and growth to expand, minimizing the moments of exclusion which may happen when people are interacting with the products.
The difference between Exclusion, Segregation, Integration and Inclusion
One analogy is as follows:
Consider a product with bright colors. In this case, Exclusion is when people with color blindness who can’t see the exact colors. Segregation is educating those people about the actual colors, Integration is that the considered people are being partially involved and Inclusion is making a product that is viable for both normal and color blindness people.
How do we design Inclusivity?
Firstly, we begin with mapping the user journey. The persona developed should focus on the needs and goals of the user, as well as the other required information for designing and developing the product. By focusing on the needs of the user, designers are able to avoid overloading the product with every single feature that comes to mind that we think the users want.
Inclusive design is about putting people firs and designing for those with disabilities in a variety of forms. To achieve inclusivity, one has to identify the point of exclusion and use them to create new ideas and generate better solutions and become more inclusive.
Finally, one should take note to leverage the power of the crowd. By including people from different communities, designers can better understand the needs of varying users. Providing equal experiences and utilizing the power of the crowd will help in identifying different ways to engage users.