A Sense of Belonging: a brief introduction to Inclusive Design

por Jesse Viana, UX & Content Writer at Monday

What is Inclusive Design?

Putting it simply, it’s the idea that design should be accessible to everyone, and it’s all about making people’s lives easier. Inclusivity means that software, products, services, and design should be usable by the widest range of people possible, so it should be considered in every step of the design process.

Accessibility in Design

A very important part of inclusive design comes with accessibility: the design of products, devices, services, or environments usable by people with disabilities — visual, motor, auditory, speech, or cognitive. For many companies and designers it’s still a very scary word, looked at merely as a “nice-to-have”, and very often not even considered in any part of the design process.

  • Not everyone sees or perceives color the same way, so try and avoid making it the primary information base.
  • Make your product predictable, simple, and easy to use — that’s what makes it intuitive.
  • Be careful when making forms — have clearly defined boundaries and visible labels in mind.
  • Support keyboard navigation — this is one of the most critical aspects of web accessibility.
  • Be an ally and make accessibility part of your design research: look for different contexts, iterate your products, and create new ways for people to feel enabled.

Gender Inclusivity

Traditional gender rules are so last season! Binary codes should be left to computers, don’t you think? Yep, we 100% agree.

  • Gender Identity: how an individual understands their own gender, regardless of biological sex.
  • Gender Expression: the external display of one’s gender identity.
  • Gender Nonconforming: not following the societal rules of M/F.
  • Non-Binary: not following either M/F gender norms, also addressed as genderfluid or genderqueer.
  • Trans: people whose gender identity does not align with their sex assigned at birth.

Gender Inclusivity

  • Use gender-neutral or diverse imagery.
  • Normalize same-gender representations.
  • Be mindful of pronouns and preferred names.
  • Remember to write inclusive copy.
  • Build a diverse team: different cultural backgrounds and gender identities.
  • Involve your users: design for and with excluded communities.

Useful tips to keep your copy inclusive:

  • Avoid using words that are naturally gendered (check the board above).
  • Don’t assume pronouns (she/he/they/them/person/preferred name)
  • Use language that’s welcoming, clear, and reassuring
  • Be upfront about your intention when collecting data: tell your users why you’re doing it, as it can be triggering

Give everyone the same opportunities.

Creating experiences that everyone can enjoy and that don’t discriminate it’s just the right thing to do, and every designer, company, or service should be taking their part in bringing the world a little bit closer. Everyone should have the right to participate in everyday life fully, reflecting upon products, services, and design. The thing is, we have the tendency to look at the world through our own experiences and bias, and that’s something that brings constant exclusion. Try walking in their shoes, test for accessibility, and raise awareness.

Thank you for reading

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Monday is a Business Design Consultancy based in sunny Lisbon. We co-create with ambitious leaders to build better businesses. We use strategy & design to transform businesses from within.

Jesse Viana

UX & Content Writer @ Monday 

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