Inclusive Design: Thinking beyond accessibility
A presentation at NERDSummit in in Amherst, MA, USA by Michael Miles
Inclusive Design Thinking beyond accessibility #NERDSummit
Mike Miles Genuine (wearegenuine.com) Dev(up); (developingup.com) All the internet places: mikemiles86
We all have one thing in common We want to make a positive impact on as many people as possible
Inclusive Design is… Planning considerations to ensure that a product, service and/or environment is usable by everyone to the greatest extent possible.
Based on Universal Design Ronald L. Mace Slewyn Goldsmith Patricia Moore Founded and pushed the idea of universal design in the architecture and design of public spaces. Lowering barriers to make those spaces as usable by as many people as possible.
The sloped curb is a result of barrier free/universal desighn. It helps those with accessibility issues, but also beyond. Parents with strollers, delievery people, even people distracted by a text on their cellphone.
Thinking beyond accessibility Inclusive Design encompasses accessibility issues, as well as, the wider range of human differences. Inclusive Design Location Gender Vision Language Hearing Cognitive Ability Education Age Mobility Accessibility
10 Principles of Inclusive Design 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Be Be Be Be Be Equitable 6. Flexible 7. Straightfoward 8. Perceptible 9. Informative 10. Be Be Be Be Be Preventative Tolerant Effortless Accomidating Consistent © 05/2011 Sandi Wassmer bit.ly/IDXPrinciples
Four Pillars of Inclusive Design I. II. III. IV. No user is average Every user deserves equal access Provide understandable content for every user Every user deserves our trust and respect ©CC4.0 09/2016 Mike Miles
I. No user is average
In 1952 the Air force had a problem, their new jets were not performing well. The issue? The cockpit was designed for the “average” pilot, for someone who did not exist. It was not until they designed to accomidate the actual differences of pilots did performance improve.
The Myth of Average “If you design for the average, you are literally designing for nobody.” Todd Rose bit.ly/IDXAvgMyth
The average user does not exist Building for the “average user” is the same as building for no user. Every user has a unique difference
Plan beyond the average user Planning for unique users (outliers) and their differences, means capturing everyone in between.
Create personas with limitations “Suffers from red green colorblindness” “Has a broken wrist due to a skiing accident” “Does most work while traveling”
Map users based on behaviors Create an impact map of expected behaviors © Dominic Krimmer www.dkrimmer.de Plan out the journey you want users to have. Base it on the real behaviors they will take and how they can reach your intended endpoint.
II. Every user deserves equal access
45% of internet browsing is from desktop desktop mobile / other Data Source: gs.statcounter.com/platformmarketshare/desktopmobiletablet Only a few years ago we were asking clients if they wanted a mobile site. Now we tell them they need a responsive site. The market changed. The same thing is happening for accessibility, we need to tell clients they have to plan this way.
Structure in a way that makes sense Use semantic markup, bit.ly/IDXSemBBC Use progressive design to deliver experience Prioritize what needs to be loaded
Google does not care about how your website looks. They care about the markup and being able to readers your content in the correct order. As do people with screen readers. If you plan for them, then you plan for better SEO
Average global internet speed: 6.3Mbps Republic of Mali South Korea 0.5 Mbps 26.3 Mbps Data Source: www.fastmetrics.com/internetconnectionspeedbycountry.php#top10comparison If you just build for South Korea, people in Mali are going to have a poor expirence. However, if you plan and build for people in Mali then everyone is going to have a positive experience.
Artificially limit yourself Use tools to throttle connection Disable JavaScript Can you navigate without a mouse?
III. Provide understandable content to every user
The new boston.gov website was redesigned and the content was reorganized with real users in mind.
“The website should act like a helpful human. This is one of the big differences between the old site and the new site… on the old site, it would feel like you were interacting with some sort of lawyerrobot that was speaking to you in governmentspeak” Jascha FranklinHodge, the city’s chief of information technology Source: The Boston Globe
Be clear and direct Use simple phrasing and avoid jargon Pay attention to font, spacing, line length Be meaningful, tools to check readability
Tools like hemingwayapp.com can help you write clear, direct and meaningful content. A readability score of “Grade 6” means the content is engaging enough for advanced users, but clear and inviting enough for new users.
Inform and guide Display useful error messaging Plan a user’s journey Provide contextual relations
The new boston.gov website feature contextually linked sections such as street cleaning and tow lots.
IV. Provide every user with trust and respect
Inclusive Design: Excluding no gender “The easiest way to do inclusive design? Stop asking about gender!” Sarah Leren bit.ly/IDXGender
Drupal.org give users multiple options on how to identify their geneder, or not select an option at all.
Collect only the information you need Ask “Why do we need this data?” Ask “What options can we give users?” Ask “Why should users give this to us?”
Pintrest not only gives users options, but also explains to the user why they collect gender information.
Be responsible with data Explain how the data is used Explain how the data is protected Give users control of their data
Four Pillars of Inclusive Design I. II. III. IV. No user is average Every user deserves equal access Provide understandable content for every user Every user deserves our trust and respect If we agree to these four pillars when building our applications, then we have to think differently.
We make a positive impact on as many people as possible And if we follow the four pillars, then we will reach a wider audience.
Resources bit.ly/NERD17IDX This presentation bit.ly/IDXPrinciples bit.ly/NERD17IDXSlides Presentation Slides bit.ly/IDXAvgMyth 10 Principles of Inclusive Design The Myth of Average bit.ly/IDXSemBBC bit.ly/IDXGender BBC Semantic guidelines Inclusive Design: Excluding No Gender
Feedback @mikemiles86 #NERDSummit
Thank You! #NERDSummit @WeAreGenuine Inclusive Design / Michael Miles
There are many differences that impact the way people experience the digital world. From age and gender, vision and dexterity, to location and education. Each difference affects digital inclusion and experiences. As builders of the digital world it is our job to build products that are usable by, and inclusive of, as many people as possible. To do so, it is important that we plan for the many differences that make up our users.
This session details the importance of having an inclusive mindset in the ux and content aspects of our digital projects. It explains how Inclusive Design allow for producing positive experiences for a wider audience. Attendees will learn four simple guidelines that they can follow to apply Inclusive Design principles to their ux and content phases. Attendees will leave with the tools they need to reach a bigger user base while also building towards an accessible and inclusive digital world.
This session is intended for anyone who wants to build digital products that reach as many people as possible.
