Why you should care about inclusive design

Design is often a hidden enabler in our everyday lives, influencing everything from the way our medicine is produced to the way our offices are heated. Appreciating design’s power to structure how we interact with the world, it is important to pay attention to inclusive design, which aims to include people of all abilities and backgrounds in the design process.

Did you know that 5 million Australians nationwide lack access to products and services due to inadequate design?

Inclusive design is not just a buzzword, but a crucial aspect of product design that can save lives.?

A major example of this is in the design of car safety features. Car companies have historically only tested their cars using male crash test dummies, ignoring the differences in physiology between men and women. As a result, women are significantly more likely to be injured or killed in car crashes than men.

To combat scenarios like this, some companies have started using inclusive design principles to create products that are accessible to people of all abilities.?

For example, a GPS device has been developed specifically for visually impaired individuals, using vibrating sensors to help them navigate. Additionally, a purpose-designed elderly care home has been created for individuals with dementia, providing a safe and supportive environment for them to live in.

The famous saying "nothing about us without us" is often used by disability rights activists and is still very relevant today. It means that people with disabilities should be included in the design process for products and services that affect them.?

You can’t know if the solutions you have come up with are the right ones if you are not testing them with the people who will use them. Ideally, you should be co-designing with them. Most importantly, you may not even know if the problem you have identified is the right problem to be solving.

To ensure the success of a project, it is essential to invest time and effort at the beginning to set it up properly. This means engaging with end users throughout the process to make sure the project will actually solve their problems and not just deliver something that no one needs. The Centre For Inclusive Design identifies that expenses associated with retrofitting for inclusiveness can reach 10,000 times the cost, if not addressed in the early stages.

Anticipating the potential impacts of the project is also crucial. When working with people who have lived experience, it is important to consider any potential adverse effects and take steps to mitigate them. Investing in prototyping can also help to de-risk the project by ensuring that the end product or service truly solves the problems of the intended users.

Finally, it is important to conduct inclusivity testing to ensure that the project is accessible and useful to all user groups. This means designing user tests to include representatives from a diverse range of backgrounds, and taking steps to avoid excluding minority groups. Public services should be accessible to everyone, so it is important to design them with this principle in mind.

Inclusive design is an important aspect of product design that aims to include people of all abilities and backgrounds in the design process. By considering the needs of all users, designers can create products and services that are accessible and useful for everyone, helping to create a more inclusive and equitable society.