Why Inclusion is Important in Design
There are many useful technologies that we use every day in our society. These technologies were not created in a short period of time; however, they were created through an iterative process of appropriate design thinking and consideration of inclusion. This is also known as human-centered design. This design methodology consists of inclusion, accessibility, and empathy (Mitchell, 2019). As more and more of the technology and media-based tools we use daily become digitized, our responsibility as designers is increasing. Since the impact of digitalized technology is so great that it must be provided to the public without any kinds of ethical problems which might harm people. Especially, not only adults but teenagers are easily affected by this, it is more important to consider appropriate design methodology which consists of inclusion, accessibility, and empathy.
First, inclusion is about designing things or technologies considering the full range of human diversity which consists of abilities, language, cultural backgrounds, gender, and age. This can even include other forms of human difference of individual. Considering all these factors during the design process can take a considerable amount of time for designers; however, it is worthwhile to consider because it will eventually lead to better experience for everyone in this society. Next, accessibility is about ensuring inclusion through digital and media contents. This is about making the technology more equitable to various people including disabled, people with different cultural backgrounds or language, and people who are socially disadvantaged due to the digital divide, so that they can easily access information through technology. One example of inclusion and accessibility working together is closed captioning which was first introduced in the 1970s to make television content accessible to people who cannot hear or hear well (Bedrossain, 2018). The purpose of this technology was initially for a particular group of people who cannot hear well, but it also had a positive and groundbreaking effect on other groups as well. For example, like in a noisy place, making it possible to access information without hearing sounds or even making it possible for students with learning disabilities to have a better learning environment. Lastly, empathy is about knowing about the user’s mind and position in advance during the process of designing. Designing things is not just about modeling cool-looking physical things or interfaces of technology. It is about continuous feedback through conversations with users and observations from users.
Kat Holmes who is the founder of Kata and the author of ‘Mismatch: How Inclusion Shapes Design’, said that, “With respect to design, I started to think that recognizing exclusion is a skill we can build. It’s an actionable starting point for thinking in new ways about how well a design does or doesn’t meet a person’s needs or preferences” (Bedrossain, 2018). From this, I would like to comment that recognizing exclusion in our society is a different way of saying inclusion. This is the reason why inclusion is so important in designing technology or digital media. It is never easy to create a technology that satisfies everyone, but if designers understand these processes mentioned above and take the time to put them into the design process, we will be able to achieve technology that is beneficial to everyone.
References:
Jess Mitchell, A Voice of One’s Own, talk at the Toronto Creative Mornings meeting in April, 2019
Rebecca Bedrossian, Recognizing Exclusion is the Key to Inclusive Design: In conversation with Kat Holmes, July 25, 2018