Can Priya from Tamil Nadu access your website?

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Inclusive design ensures digital experiences are accessible, intuitive, and welcoming for all users. This guide explores actionable strategies and principles to help you design products that resonate with diverse audiences and foster true inclusivity

Priya, a visually impaired woman from Chennai, is navigating through a newly opened restaurant's website to book a table for her anniversary. The website is beautifully designed, with vibrant images and trendy fonts, and loads quickly. But as she starts interacting, Priya realises there is no text-to-speech compatibility, and the navigation relies heavily on a mouse that she can’t effectively use.

Frustrated, she gives up and calls another restaurant, one that she visits often.

Now picture this from the restaurant owner's perspective: they invested heavily in making the website sleek and visually appealing, but failing to consider accessibility and inclusivity, they unintentionally alienated potential customers like Priya.

Consider another scenario: Maya, a young professional in her late twenties, lands her dream job at a global tech company. On her first day, she is eager to explore the company’s internal portal for onboarding. However, the text-heavy interface is overwhelming for someone with dyslexia. The lack of text-to-speech options, adjustable fonts, and structured content leaves her feeling excluded and discouraged. What should have been a seamless introduction to the company turned into a frustrating ordeal.

Inclusive design, what does it imply?

The two scenarios underscore a crucial point: Design that excludes is more than just inconvenience — it creates barriers.

This brings us to the crux of the matter — inclusive design, but what is inclusive design? It’s about ensuring that your website or app UX is usable to as many people as possible, regardless of ability, language, or context.

Inclusive design involves recognising diverse user needs and making adjustments to ensure usability for all, including those whose preferences or circumstances fall outside the assumed norm.

Digging a bit deeper…

As we will explain in this guide, inclusive design goes beyond mere accessibility.

A deep understanding of user backgrounds and abilities drives inclusive UX.

User interfaces that prioritise inclusive design can greatly impact UX by fostering a deeper sense of belonging.

At its core, inclusive design is the intentional practice of considering users' needs who often face exclusion due to physical abilities, cultural backgrounds, or other factors. It goes beyond accessibility to create products that function for diverse users and make them feel seen and respected.

It may not always be intentional but…

Designers who embrace inclusivity recognise that exclusion can occur unintentionally. Without proactive efforts to include, we risk excluding. Negative experiences—such as denied access, identity invalidation, or frustrating interactions—are common consequences of exclusion. Inclusive design combats these issues by fostering solutions that prioritise ease, accessibility, and, above all, belonging.

A strategic advantage

As we saw in the scenarios above, inclusive design is a strategic advantage. Products that cater to a diverse audience often outperform those that don't. For example, a visually impaired user who can easily navigate your website will likely remain a loyal customer. Conversely, excluding users can damage brand reputation and alienate potential markets.

By adopting inclusive practices, designers create digital experiences that resonate across various demographics, enhancing usability for everyone.

2 Key Elements to Inclusive Design

Inclusive design usually requires two critical elements:

Diverse Teams

Our biases often mirror our own experiences. A homogenous design team is less likely to anticipate the needs of excluded groups. Building teams with diverse cultural backgrounds, abilities, and gender identities helps break down these biases, fostering richer, more inclusive designs.

User-Centered Design

Effective UX design always puts the user at the heart of every decision. When designing for groups we’re unfamiliar with, direct engagement with those user groups or communities is essential. Tools like co-creation workshops and user testing allow designers to collaborate with said groups, ensuring the end product reflects their needs and experiences.

Going from Accessibility to Inclusivity

Accessibility is often the first step to consider in inclusive design, but it’s certainly not the endpoint. While accessibility focuses on ensuring products can be used by individuals with disabilities, inclusivity considers the broader spectrum of user experiences—such as cultural differences, age-related challenges, and socioeconomic barriers. And true inclusivity requires designers to think beyond guidelines and address subtler forms of exclusion.

Best Practices for Inclusive Design

Here are 4 actionable strategies to make your digital designs more inclusive:

1. Using Inclusive Imagery

Images and icons are powerful tools for representation. However, they can unintentionally reinforce stereotypes if not carefully considered.

•  Abstracting: Use conceptual illustrations that allow users to project their identities onto the design. For instance, Lemonade uses toothbrush icons to represent families, avoiding any implications about gender, race, or abilities
•  Diversifying: Showcase a variety of human experiences. Airbnb’s illustrations, for example, depict a broad spectrum of people, reflecting the diversity of their user base.

2. Writing Inclusive Copy

To create a truly inclusive experience, your copy must be clear, respectful, and also, representative.

•  Simplify Language: Avoid jargon and complex sentences. This ensures clarity for users with cognitive disabilities or those who aren’t fluent in the platform’s primary language.
•  Be Mindful in Forms: When collecting user information, consider whether certain fields (e.g., gender or ethnicity) are necessary. If they are, provide inclusive options or open-text fields, and explain why the information is being requested.
•  Rethinking Notifications: Personalised messages can be inclusive when they account for diverse identities. Avoid assigning default pronouns or gendered language without user input, as seen in apps like Bumble.

3. Designing for Voice User Interfaces (VUIs)

With the rise of voice-activated technology, designing for inclusivity in VUIs is vital. Consider diverse accents, speech patterns, and languages. Ensure your interface accommodates users who may have speech impairments or prefer non-verbal input options.

4. Defining Inclusive Design Principles

Every design agency or organisation should establish principles that guide inclusive design. These guiding principles ensure that inclusivity is embedded in every project. Regularly revisit and refine these guidelines to adapt to evolving user needs

In Conclusion

Inclusive design is an ongoing commitment to creating products that work for everyone. By fostering diversity within teams, collaborating with various user groups, and going beyond accessibility, UI/UX professionals can craft truly inclusive experiences.

As designers, we hold the power to shape digital interactions, when users visit your website, they must feel welcomed, valued, and empowered — regardless of ability, identity, or background! In the end, inclusive design doesn’t stop at making better products; it makes a better world.

At TIC, we can help you craft inclusive designs that welcome every user. With our expertise, we’ll ensure your digital experiences are accessible, engaging, and resonate with diverse audiences. For any queries, get in touch with us!

 

To get in touch for our services or any other communication requirement, please contact + 91 842 581 4016 / 17 or simply drop an email at solutions@ticworks.com.