What Is Inclusive Design?
Inclusive design describes the practice of deliberately incorporating the needs of users, encompassing as many facets and perspectives of society as possible. The goal: to create digital products and services that are physically, cognitively and emotionally accessible to everyone – enabling a great user experience for all.
Inclusive design helps companies drive (digital) innovation, develop accessible products and services, and expand their user base to include potential new customers. Inclusion is therefore not an optional add-on, but an imperative necessity.
Principles for a Better Future: New Potential Through Digital Inclusion
Inclusive design and the development of accessible products and services gives companies the opportunity to expand their user base and foster innovation. That sounds promising – but how exactly does it work?
The focus here is on use situations rather than user types. During development, the primary question is not what a product can do for a specific group of users, but rather what task it needs to fulfil in a specific situation. Two fundamental questions guide this process: Who are we designing for. And who are we excluding in doing so.
How Inclusive Design Can Succeed
By the time the European Accessibility Act (EAA) comes into force in mid-2025 at the latest, the principles of diversity and inclusion will become legally binding in Germany – and inclusive concepts will definitively become the standard. To prepare for this, companies should take the following key principles into account:
Levels of Inclusion Implementation
Embedding Inclusive Design Throughout, Uncovering Barriers
To ensure that products and services are usable by all people, inclusion must be considered throughout the entire development process – the aspect of inclusion cannot be added retrospectively.
Incorporating Real-World Experiences and Needs
The earlier and more frequently the diverse experiences and needs of users are recognised and taken into account in product development, the more inclusive a product or service can be designed.
Enabling Flexible Use
People with disabilities typically use assistive technologies to participate and interact. A digital offering should therefore be operable via multiple means – able to respond to a voice command just as effectively as to input or navigation via keyboard, mouse or touchpad.
Diversity, in Business Too
Our society is diverse and complex. This diversity must be reflected in the design of digital products and services.
With awareness of the dimensions and possible approaches offered by inclusive design, a company’s capacity for innovation can be significantly strengthened. This leads to accessible products and services that offer additional differentiation potential. Furthermore, innovative solutions and products automatically expand a company’s user base.
The calls for diversity and inclusion in all areas of life are growing louder. Inclusive design affects us all and benefits us all. It does, however, require a clear commitment to making digital accessibility and inclusive design the standard. A very fitting quote (source unknown, but worth sharing nonetheless):
Diversity is a fact, inclusion is a choice.