Understanding the Importance of Inclusive Design

Inclusive design is a mainstay of the modern-day user interface. It’s the job of UI designers to ensure that their products or services are inclusive to as many users as possible, including those with diverse or underrepresented needs. 

When you pursue a career in UI design, you do more than just sign on to create better user interfaces. You also commit to creating assets that truly meet the needs and expectations of their users, prioritizing a UI design process that accounts for all sorts of individuals who may engage with your product. 

You can’t always predict the requirements of your users. But what you can do is prioritize inclusive design in your interface work and familiarize yourself with the principles behind it. Keep reading for a basic overview of the inclusive UI design process, from why it matters to how you can implement it. 

What is Inclusive Design?

Let’s start with answering a question we’re sure a lot of readers have: what is inclusive design anyway?

Inclusive design refers to techniques within the UI design framework that are intended to make the end product accessible to the largest number of people. Location, age, gender, educational background, race, and physical abilities can all come into play, with each factor impacting how you design an interface and who you design it for. 

Most people get into UI design to remove barriers, not create them. By practicing inclusive design, you do your part to increase accessibility across multiple points of contact – and, from there, to generate user interface design patterns that accommodate the needs of their users for the benefit of all. 

How UI/UX Design Shapes the User Experience

Good UI/UX design improves customer engagement, reduces churn rates, and increases efficiency and ease of use. All of these are necessary for positively shaping user perceptions and how people interact with digital products. They’re even more impactful when achieved through the lens of inclusive design. 

When inclusivity is at the forefront of design considerations, you get more diversity in the types of people who can utilize your asset and how they interact with it. It’s no wonder, then, that the UI design process necessitates an inclusive lens or that companies place a premium on a designer’s ability to implement the concepts of inclusive design. 

Accounting for Diversity in the UI Design Process

There are two umbrella groups to consider in terms of user diversity:

• General user demographics 

• Types of users who are generally overlooked in product design

General user demographics are broad-level variations like language, socio-economic status, geographic location, ethnicity, culture, and educational background. Because your goal is usually to reach a large audience, these demographic factors should always be top of mind in the UI design process. 

User diversity also encompasses groups of people who are often excluded in a traditional user interface design. This group includes but is not limited to, people with visual impairments, people with limited mobility, people of color, non-native English speakers, and people with cognitive disabilities. 

An inclusive UI design process leads to an interface that is not just designed for the “average” person. Along the way, it forces you to broaden the scope of usability and, as a result, avoid excluding people simply because you haven’t considered their unique preferences and pain points. 

Benefits of Inclusive User Interface Design 

In a 2022 Wunderman Thompson Intelligence Survey capturing global views on inclusivity as a brand imperative, 82% of respondents said that brands should prioritize inclusion throughout their entire business. Meanwhile, 60% said that brands that fail to embrace inclusivity will eventually become irrelevant. 

That your users expect inclusion in design is one reason to make it a best practice of your UI design process. But it’s far from the only reason, with a number of notable benefits stemming from creating inclusive user interfaces. 

Expanded User Reach

Inclusive design is all about accommodating more users in more ways, and it stands to reason that you expand your reach in doing so. Ultimately, more inclusivity means more potential users of your interface, and that’s a good thing if you’re interested in the scalability of your product. 

Improved User Satisfaction

Inclusivity leads to better user experiences, which in turn leads to higher rates of user satisfaction. This is certainly the case for those who would otherwise have been excluded from the design, but also for all other users, many of whom equally enjoy the accommodations made in an inclusive UI design process.

More Positive Brand Perceptions

An effort towards inclusivity speaks volumes about a brand. The same is true for a lack of effort. Simply put, if you take the time to incorporate inclusivity in UI design, your users will notice. They may also help boost brand reputation by sharing their positive experience with others via online reviews and word of mouth. 

Creativity and Innovation

Inclusive design is rarely the easiest route to take in a UI/UX project. That’s a good thing, though, since it forces you outside of your comfort zone, requiring you to ask questions and craft solutions that may not have occurred to you otherwise. That means more creativity in your design process, plus more innovation in your end result. 

Challenges in Achieving Inclusive Design

Good intentions are only half the equation for inclusivity in UI design. Both UI and UX designers face a number of common challenges when incorporating inclusive design practices, including misconceptions about how to accommodate user diversity. 

Lack of Education and Experience 

The best UI/UX design courses will make sure students are educated on inclusive design principles. But unless you’re taking a targeted inclusivity workshop, there’s a chance that you won’t get to really dig in and put them into practice. 

If you’re confused about how certain inclusivity principles play out in the UX/UI design process, ask your instructor(s) and/or design community peers. It can never hurt to get more background, context, or experience, and most design pros will be more than happy to guide you in gaining a better understanding of design inclusion. 

Narrow Perspectives

Knowing what groups you must design for isn’t the same as knowing exactly what they need. A UI/UX design team may suffer from a lack of perspective in their work, with limited insight into what obstacles certain types of users face and how they can be overcome. 

To avoid this, bring on diverse voices from the very beginning of the project. This can be done through dedicated user research and should continue through (and past) the usability testing stage. 

Overcomplexity

An inclusive user interface design is going to have a lot of moving parts. As such, it can be a challenge to include inclusive features for so many groups, and it can also complicate the end-user experience. 

If you find yourself getting overwhelmed, go back to the drawing board with information architecture and try to see where you can simplify the structure of your interface to allow for all of the necessary inclusive elements. 

Accessibility Standards and Guidelines

Inclusive design covers more than accessibility. However, accessibility is a main goal of any inclusive UI design process. 

You’ll want to be aware of the accessibility standards and guidelines that will dictate your practices, including

• Perceivability (alt text, adaptable content, distinguishable formatting)

• Operability (intuitive navigation, input modalities, keyboard accessibility)

• Comprehensibility (readable text, predictable responses, input assistance)

• Robust (ensuring content is compatible with various types of user agents, including assistive technologies)

Keep an accessibility and inclusion checklist handy so you can be sure to hit all the right marks. Account for inclusivity in usability testing as well, and run your asset through a qualified accessibility checker to be notified of any obvious gaps. 

Practical Inclusion Strategies for UI/UX Designers

Here are some actionable tips you can start putting into practice right now in order to create more inclusive user interfaces. 

• Play devil’s advocate – Instead of asking yourself what certain types of users need, ask yourself what sorts of things would actually make it harder for them to use your asset. Then, work backward and develop solutions to avoid each of those hurdles. 

• Generate lots of user feedback – Surveys, focus groups, and interviews are all great ways to get insight from real users about what’s working for them and what’s not. 

• Be aware of your biases – Your own point-of-view is valuable, but it has its limits. Acknowledge your own biases and make a point of involving diverse viewpoints throughout the design process. 

• Provide options – Aim for an adaptable design that can be interacted with differently by different users. It’s easier than trying to make one product that works for everyone and will help with the aforementioned complexity in your design. 

• Capitalize on useful features – Some features may be intended for one group but benefit everyone, such as closed captioning or structured navigational links. Take these features and run with them; you’ll have an improved overall design. 

UI and UX designers play a critical role in championing inclusive design within the field of tech and development, and that’s why we’ve made inclusivity part of our mission. If you’re ready to learn more about how to embrace inclusivity as a core principle in your practice and foster positive change in the digital experiences you create, sign up for an Ideate Labs UI/UX course and discover firsthand what it takes to bring inclusion to the forefront of interface design.

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