The case for designing for accessibility, and how to actually practice it
By: Rachelle Jin
Tags: User Experience, Product Design, Design, UX, Accessibility

Why is it important?

Inaccessible and unethical design can harm people 😣

Digital experiences that overlook the needs across different demographics, including disabled consumers, can unintentionally exclude and even harm users. User harm comes in various forms. In the context of inaccessible design, demographics can feel societal harm in the form of exclusion, reinforced stereotypes, unequal opportunities, and discrimination.

Imagine a scenario where Marc, a colorblind man, tries to book a doctor's appointment through an app. The app isn’t optimized for colorblind users, so Marc has a hard time reading specific call-to-action buttons and crucial information sections – leaving Marc feeling frustrated and stuck.

Colorblind individuals like Marc may have a difficult time differentiating between colors like red and green within a digital scheduling calendar.

You’re probably thinking, “I would never want to harm any of my users!” Of course, you wouldn’t intentionally seek to exclude or harm users with your work. Though exclusive design is hardly ever intentional, design decisions will always impose consequences on all types of users – those that are intended to use your product, and those who aren’t in your targeted scope.

Lu Han from Spotify.Design puts it beautifully: “These unethical decisions aren’t usually the result of bad intentions. Rather, it’s a systematic issue that stems from our focus on short-term business goals, like engagement and revenue, often at the expense of user trust and wellbeing.”

Accessible design breaks into huge untapped markets 🔨

It’s a common misconception that spending time to build websites and apps for users with specific needs is too expensive or time-costly since these underrepresented demographics don’t constitute a majority of mainstream technology users.

As the Head of Product Inclusion at Google Annie Jean-Baptiste says, “Their voices may not be those traditionally heard and listened to in the product design process, but theirs are the voices that will define the future of your products, making them richer and better overall.”

Your organization will prosper if diversity, equity, and inclusion are pursued and properly implemented across your products, teams, and business decisions. Though everyone has different needs, people generally want to feel seen and heard through technology. People are naturally more likely to consume products that resonate with their unique backgrounds and fulfill their individual needs. Representation within products may be more elusive than representation in entities like media, yet the most successful products are products that people can personally resonate and interact intuitively with. Product development has a ton of untapped markets:

Product development has a ton of untapped markets — demographics including those who are 65 and older, LGBTQ+, and/or disabled.

One of the reasons why brands like Nike and Coca-Cola are globally-recognized is that these companies focus on rolling out inclusive marketing campaigns. Just take a look at Fenty Beauty. Rihanna’s cosmetic brand launched in 2018 with 40 different foundation colors to accommodate individuals of different complexions – as a result, consumers eagerly purchased her products, deeming her foundation launch a commercial success.

As a marketer, designer, or manager, you have the ability to include and unify your users and customers in a way that makes everyone feel like they belong. Practicing accessible, inclusive design makes people feel heard and accounted for – in return, you miss fewer opportunities as you expand your target audience.

Building accessible products benefits more people than you’d expect 🙇🏻‍♀️

Have you ever taken a moment to appreciate the dips in an elevated curbside? These curb cuts were originally designed to make streets more accessible to wheelchair users. Yet, the people who use and benefit from curb cuts extend beyond wheelchair users – stroller-pushers, skateboarders, luggage-carriers can all appreciate the cut in the sidewalk. It’s the same thing for closed captioning, wheelchair ramps, and text-to-speech technology.

Behold, the curb cut — a ramp cut into a street curb to provide access between a sidewalk and the street.

This phenomenon is called the curb-cut effect. Technology that is designed for disabled people can help everybody – not just the intended user group. In the larger picture, universal design can be utilized to target systemic issues and inequalities. The curb-cut effect is based on the notion of equity, not to be mixed up with equality.

“Equality gives everyone the right to ride on the bus. Equity ensures that there are curb cuts so people in wheelchairs can get to the bus stop and lifts so they can get on the bus, and ensures that there are bus lines where people need them so they can get to wherever they need to go.” – Angela Glover Blackwell

To integrate design accessibility practices in the very products we use every day is to push for equitable opportunities for users of all needs to prosper and reach their full potential. As the technology industry knocks down the walls of exclusion in their products and services, society as a whole can build accessible pathways to success. In the end, everybody gains.