Emilie Lims Experience with Inclusive Design with Us

Introduction

The first time I heard “inclusive design” was from an aspiring product designer/illustrator whose eyes sparkled, as she talked about her ambition.

For anyone who doesn’t know what inclusive design means, it means designing for the wider audience that fits the needs of “everyone”. 

On a personal level inclusivity has allowed me to understand more about the visually impaired community and learn about the problems that visually impaired people have faced during this period. 

Here are four examples of why inclusivity is key on a business level.  

1. In this modern age, inclusive design is important. More and more people are using technology in their lives with tools that are available - despite this, having visual impairment isn't always transparent to everyone and individuals might not see information the same way as others. As a result, they are not able to access the tools the same way.

2. Probably all of us will have some sort of impairment at one point in our lives and having impairment can be frustrating and a scary experience. Inclusive design can make the experience like watching a video easier for people who have some sort of impairment such as including captions and alt text.

3. For companies, designing for inclusivity can help boost the company's reputation and loyalty for the above reasons.

Fact: there are over 85-90% that are visually impaired compared to roughly 15% who are blind.  

4. Inclusivity is important. There are specific guidelines to follow such as the WCAG