{"id":35856,"date":"2025-03-27T12:52:32","date_gmt":"2025-03-27T12:52:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/digileaders.com\/?p=35856"},"modified":"2025-03-27T14:28:25","modified_gmt":"2025-03-27T14:28:25","slug":"inclusive-design-is-driving-innovation-how-to-stay-ahead-of-the-pack","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/digileaders.com\/inclusive-design-is-driving-innovation-how-to-stay-ahead-of-the-pack\/","title":{"rendered":"Inclusive design is driving innovation- how to stay ahead of the pack"},"content":{"rendered":"

Imagine being the leading organisation that provides innovative products and services that can be used by a wide range of customers in many different ways, without requiring special adaptation.<\/p>\n

By designing in a more inclusive way you not only reap the benefits of a much wider and more diverse customer base, but you\u2019re also doing the right thing for your company, your customers and the planet. Designing your products and services a little differently really doesn\u2019t take radical change. It\u2019s all about mindset and a commitment to inclusion and after all, who wouldn\u2019t want to feel like something was designed with their specific needs in mind?<\/p>\n

Yet somehow this simple, long-standing idea still hasn\u2019t been universally and wholeheartedly adopted. Industries are still pumping out averagely designed products for a homogenous one size fits all customer base that no longer exists.<\/p>\n

That is changing though and you\u2019d best not get left behind. Inclusive design is finally gaining the traction and attention it deserves with more progressive, upwardly-mobile organisations and I\u2019m going to explain why it should already be baked into your strategy.<\/p>\n

What is inclusive design?<\/h2>\n

Designing inclusively means considering a range of intersecting factors such as physical capabilities, cognitive capabilities, neurodiversity, gender, sexual orientation, age, education, culture, ethnicity, legal requirements, life events, sociopolitical, and even geographic environments, each with its own complexities. Then there are systemic, structural and economic barriers that many people face. These things can be long-term or temporary and situational.<\/p>\n

I\u2019m not only proposing that you should consider these things \u2013 I\u2019m also proposing that you\u2019ll benefit from it. It\u2019s not trivial, but it is worthwhile. In fact it\u2019s a commercial imperative. We\u2019ll get to that in a moment.<\/p>\n

To keep things simple, this article focuses narrowly on physical and cognitive disabilities. In future blogs we\u2019ll tackle a broader range of needs. So let\u2019s get started.<\/p>\n

Mindset shift #1: the environment is flawed, not the people<\/h3>\n

We often perceive disability as a lack of ability to do something. Here\u2019s a better perspective: instead, someone is disabled when a mismatch exists between their abilities and their environment. From that vantage point, we could say they are dis-enabled. Happily, the environment can be improved to enable people with disabilities. And so it goes with products or services.<\/p>\n

For example, a person with hearing difficulties can\u2019t hear the announcements on a train, but with suitable digital signage they are no longer disabled by it.<\/p>\n

Mindset shift #2: design with customers, not for them<\/h3>\n

To yield the rewards of inclusive design, we must work with and learn from people with a diverse range of perspectives. This could be through regular co-design sessions, user research, and fully incorporating people with differing perspectives and\/or disabilities into the product team.<\/p>\n

When Samaritans asked cxpartners to help design their first-ever chat service it was clear that the level of trust would need to be exceptional. But trust is easy to get wrong and indeed when we tested our working Samaritans prototype before it launched, it revealed a hidden problem.<\/p>\n

We found that Samaritans\u2019 \u2018active listening\u2019 techniques worked well on the phone, but were awkward and off-putting to chat users. You\u2019ve probably experienced something similar using online technical support \u2013 the sense that you\u2019re texting someone who\u2019s not really listening to you.<\/p>\n

By working with people who\u2019d been in vulnerable situations, we gave Samaritans the insights needed to re-train their staff to \u2018talk\u2019 differently on chat services. Without a user-centred approach, an intervention intended to support service users may have instead increased risk of harm.<\/p>\n

With this approach, rather than the UX practitioner being positioned as the design expert, they become the design facilitator. This can sting a bit for proud UX professionals. But customers are the experts of their own lives. Things work out better for everyone when we accept that.<\/p>\n

Mindset shift #3: inclusive design benefits more customers than you think<\/h3>\n

Mindsets #1 and #2 are important ideas but of little consequence if you don\u2019t have \u2018permission\u2019 to apply them. So here\u2019s the business case.<\/p>\n

It can be hard to persuade budget-holders that we should spend time considering how their product or service will be used by \u2013 for example \u2013 people with hearing impairments, people who use screen readers or those who have cognitive disabilities. The job is tough enough already. And conversations focus on cost because the value isn\u2019t well understood.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s time to change that. Let\u2019s put some numbers to it.<\/p>\n

The\u00a0World Health Organisation<\/a>\u00a0estimates that 1.3 billion people \u2013 or 1 in 6 people worldwide \u2013 experience significant disability. You could be missing out on 16% of your target market. That\u2019s a lot of customers.<\/p>\n

But the prize is still bigger. That\u2019s because inclusive design leads to services that are more robust, effective and satisfying to use, and they work better for everyone.<\/p>\n

Here are some examples:<\/p>\n