Designing Inclusive User Experiences
taught by: Henny Swan
Session Summary
Behind every great site or application lies thought, empathy and inclusion. This doesn’t happen by accident; it happens by design. Accessibility is an attribute but inclusive design is how we get there.
Description
Behind every great site or application lies thought, empathy and inclusion. This doesn’t happen by accident; it happens by design. Accessibility is an attribute but inclusive design is how we get there.
There is more to inclusion than meets the eye. It’s persuasive, engaging and respectful no matter what your background or how you interact with a product. But it is also a process.
The Web Content Accessibility Guidelines are an important tool towards making content inclusive but by no means the only tool. In this session we will look at the relationship between accessibility and inclusive design, and how design negatively and positively impacts people. We’ll do this through the lens of the Inclusive Design Principles:
Provide comparable experience: Ensure your interface provides a comparable experience for all so people can accomplish tasks in a way that suits their needs without undermining the quality of the content.
Consider situation: People use your interface in different situations. Make sure your interface delivers a valuable experience to people regardless of their circumstances.
Be consistent: Use familiar conventions and apply them consistently.
Give control: Ensure people are in control. People should be able to access and interact with content in their preferred way.
Offer choice: Consider providing different ways for people to complete tasks, especially those that are complex or non standard.
Prioritise content: Help users focus on core tasks, features, and information by prioritising them within the content and layout.
Add value: Consider the value of features and how they improve the experience for different users.
We’ll also look at the inclusive design process and how to amplify this in your existing design processes, documentation, testing and culture.
By the end of the workshop you should be able to consciously design more inclusive user journeys, features and page layouts as well identify ways to make your design process more inclusive.
Practical Skills
- How to design more includible user journeys and features
- How to communicate accessibility during the design process
- How to include disabled people in the design process