Universal design, inclusive design, and equity-focused design

Mar 23, 2025

Lecture Notes: Designing for Accessibility and Inclusion

Introduction to Interaction Design

  • Speaker: Shabby, Interaction Designer at Google
  • Focus on scaling accessibility across Google's design systems
  • Personal journey:
    • Initially unsure about career path
    • Interest in technology and its societal impact
    • Passion for creating products for marginalized communities
    • Experience as a UX design intern focusing on products for people with chronic pain

User-Centered Design Frameworks

  • User-centered design: Meeting user needs
  • Evolution of UX design frameworks over time
  • Introduction to three key design frameworks: Universal Design, Inclusive Design, Equity-Focused Design

Universal Design

  • Definition: Creating one product for the widest range of abilities and situations
  • Approach: One-size-fits-all
  • Issues: Loss of effectiveness, exclusion despite intentions
  • Analogy: One-size-fits-all hat doesn't fit everyone

Inclusive Design

  • Definition: Design choices considering personal identifiers (ability, race, economic status, language, age, gender)
  • Approach: Solve for one, extend to many
  • Process: Inclusive research and design involving traditionally excluded populations
  • Aim: Build accessible experiences for the widest range of abilities
  • Focus: No "normal" or target audience in design
  • Accessibility:
    • Designing for disabilities
    • Part of inclusive design

Equity-Focused Design

  • Definition: Designing for historically underrepresented or ignored groups
  • Distinction between Equality and Equity:
    • Equality: Same opportunities for all
    • Equity: Different levels of support for fair outcomes
  • Illustration explanation:
    • Equality: Same-sized boxes for all, unequal outcomes
    • Equity: Different-sized boxes for fair outcomes
  • Real-world application:
    • Identify unserved groups by a product
    • Build design focusing on underrepresented groups

Final Thoughts

  • Design approaches (universal, inclusive, equity-focused) address underrepresentation
  • Importance of accessibility, inclusive and equity-focused design in education and industry
  • Encouragement to understand and implement these concepts in design careers
  • Upcoming applications and practice in implementing these ideas