Article published on 25 Jan 2023
With the constant advances in the internet and technology, anyone can develop content and products with instant global reach. Moreover, there are people of different ages, genders and looks all over the world. Consequently, products need to take into account the different social identities of the global audience.
In this situation, the term "inclusive user experience design" comes into play. Inclusive user experience design involves people with all social identities and disabilities. This inclusive design allows individuals to use and benefit from the product. Since people have different backgrounds, an inclusive design strives for everyone to be able to use the product.
While inclusive design does not mean that it is designed for everyone, it simply means that a variety of options are provided so that everyone can benefit. The result is that many people use the different ways of interacting. This inclusive design also ensures that everyone has a good user experience.
10 Best Practices to Create Inclusive User Experiences
Companies that engage more with their customers create memorable user experiences for all customers. It is equally important for the usability and accessibility of the design that the content is inclusive. So below are some notable best practises for an inclusive user experience.
1. Conduct User Research and Include Diverse Participants
Many user testing approaches, such as interviewing potential users, are used in the design of user experiences. Also, provide a variety of demographic data relevant to numerous people when assessing how users will interact with your design.
End-user feedback can help developers shape and improve their designs and content to be more inclusive and diverse. By considering the priorities and context of use of different users, you can make your content compelling and accessible to everyone.
2. Prioritize Simplicity
When you create something that appears inclusive, the usability of the content or service produced is the critical goal. Simplicity is a great practise to tackle because it promotes usability. Users want to discover what they are looking for and quickly and efficiently grasp the information they see. On the other hand, high-level content that uses complex language or data causes difficulties for users with cognitive issues, language problems, low reading ability and many other problems.
Your content needs to be simple for all end users to understand in order to appeal to all readers. Simplification to simplicity is a subtle way to communicate that a brand cares about all its users and helps build trust.
3. Incorporate AI-based Assistance Tools
An inclusive UX design is the most efficient way to reach a global audience worldwide. Therefore, artificial intelligence, plug-ins and other technologies that enable users with different abilities to use the content or product are an important requirement. Inclusive designs also enable AI technologies that translate information into different languages to provide access for people who need translation.
4. Effective Utilization of Images and Illustrations
Use photos, symbols, drawings and other illustrations to make the content more understandable. Pictures, logos and drawings can convey thousands of words. However, they are all so simple that anyone can learn through them.
5. Utilize More Tools Based on Voice Assistance
Voice assistant tools not only help the hearing impaired, but also the physically fit. For example, the inclusive designs of UX, which offer reading assistance or text-to-speech features in the product or content, also allow people with visual impairments to access information. In addition, you can quickly complete many tasks using voice commands.
6. Test with a Diverse Group of Users
It is ideal for incorporating more user feedback into the design process. UX Design testing with a broad group of consumers allows for collective access to knowledge. You learn from a different perspective to create a positive cycle of inclusion. So present your created content or product to a large group of people to get feedback.
7. Deliver Alternatives to Visual Content
Users who are blind or visually impaired need to have a lot of trust in people and technology to feel safe. Therefore, it is important to adjust the settings for font, colour and spacing and to enlarge text and images significantly so that blind people can adapt the user interface to their needs.
8. Consider Accessibility From the Beginning
To make UX more user-friendly, accessibility criteria must be considered as a set of design constraints. Unfortunately, almost everyone is disabled in some way, whether permanently, temporarily or situationally.
Therefore, it is important to know the main disabilities, conditions or limitations that affect how users interact with digital services. By making sure that everyone can use your product in the most straightforward way possible, you can prepare a UX design for progressive improvement.
9. Embracing the Power of Specificity
A design strategy known as inclusive UX design aims to create products and services that are usable, enjoyable and accessible to everyone, regardless of their needs, circumstances or abilities. Specificity, i.e. designing for unique users rather than a broad, fictional or average user, is a critical component of inclusive design.
In inclusive UX design, designers can develop more specialised and successful solutions that address the particular needs and preferences of different people by embracing the power of specificity. Designing for specific disabilities, cultures, languages, technologies or use situations can fall under this category.
Adopting Specificity in inclusive UX design has several advantages, such as:
- Improved usability: By designing for specific consumers, designers can take into account the particular difficulties and obstacles these users face and develop more logical and simple solutions for them.
- Improved accessibility: By taking individual disabilities into account, designers can provide more accessible goods and services that are easier for users.
- Greater inclusivity: Designers can provide goods and services that are more welcoming and inclusive to all people, regardless of their abilities or requirements, by designing for different users.
- Higher user satisfaction: By designing for specific customers, designers can create engaging and personalised experiences that better meet those customers' needs and tastes.
10. Follow Design Standards
Designers can adhere to various design principles and rules to create a more inclusive UX design. The most widely used standards and guidelines include:
- WCAG - The World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) has created the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) to improve the accessibility of web content for people with disabilities. The WCAG provide suggestions for addressing various accessibility issues in web design, including visual, auditory, cognitive and motor disabilities.
- ISO 9241 - An international standard called ISO 9241 provides recommendations for the ergonomic design of human-computer interfaces. Usability topics covered by ISO 9241 include usability concepts, user interface design and user-centred design methods.
- IDRC - The International Development Research Centre (IDRC) has developed the Human-Centred Design Toolkit to help designers develop more inclusive and user-centred designs. User research, prototyping and usability testing are just some of the design-related topics covered in the toolkit.
Conclusion
A product is not perfect if it is inaccessible to a certain group of people. By applying inclusive design, you can develop products that are accessible to people from different backgrounds. An excellent inclusive UX design strives to provide a positive user experience for everyone who comes into contact with the product.
Designers can use the inclusive design method to develop products that work effectively not only for members of the design team but for everyone, reaching a wider audience that can benefit from your product or service.
References
- https://www.boia.org/blog/five-strategies-for-creating-an-inclusive-design
- https://www.clearpnt.com/5-tips-for-inclusive-ux-design/
- https://uxplanet.org/6-principles-for-inclusive-design-3e9867f7f63e
About Author,
Siya Hingorani
Lead Product Designer & UX Researcher
I solve complex problems creatively, balancing user needs with business objectives and technological constraints. With over 14 years of experience in human-centered design, across visual design, interaction design, user experience, customer experience, and service design, I advocate for users’ needs and try to make their lives easier by creating innovative solutions.
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