Inclusive Design - Redefine Inclusive Designers

Study Notes: Redefine Inclusive Designers

Learning Objectives

By completing this unit, you will be able to:

1. Describe the qualities of successful inclusive designers.
2. Discuss ability bias.
3. Describe the social definition of disability.

Deciding Who Designs

• Expanded Definition of Designer: Inclusive design involves not just formally trained designers but also exclusion experts who have firsthand experience with exclusion and have solved for mismatches.
• Role of Exclusion Experts: These individuals provide valuable insights and should be involved early in the design process to identify and address exclusion effectively.

Skills for Successful Inclusive Designers

1. Identify Ability Biases: Recognize and address biases related to one’s own abilities that can affect design decisions.
2. Create Diverse Participation: Design experiences that offer multiple ways for people to participate and engage.
3. Design for Interdependence: Foster collaboration by creating designs that allow people with complementary skills to work together.

Ability Bias

• Definition: The tendency to use one's own abilities as a baseline for designing solutions, leading to designs that may only work well for people with similar abilities.
• Impact: Can exclude those with different abilities if not recognized and addressed.
• Example: Designing tools or interfaces that assume a certain level of physical or cognitive ability without considering alternatives for those with different capabilities.

Social Definition of Disability

• WHO’s Definition: Disability is seen as a mismatch between a person’s abilities and their environment or points of interaction, rather than just a medical condition.
• Design Implications: Designers have the responsibility to reduce these mismatches through thoughtful, inclusive design choices.

Creating Diverse Ways to Participate

• Importance: Ensures that a broader range of people can engage with and benefit from a product or experience.
• Example: Adaptive game controllers allow individuals with different physical abilities to play video games, highlighting the need for varied participation methods.

Designing for Interdependence

• Concept: Creating designs that encourage and facilitate complementary skill contributions, promoting a collective and inclusive approach.
• Benefit: Enhances collaboration and ensures that more people can participate effectively.

Summary

To be a successful inclusive designer, one must expand the definition of who can design, actively identify and mitigate ability biases, understand and apply the social definition of disability, create multiple ways for diverse participation, and design for interdependence. Engaging exclusion experts early in the design process and continuously challenging one’s own biases can lead to more inclusive and effective solutions.