Yet, while the two terms are often used interchangeably, universal design and inclusive design aren’t synonymous. They are both concerned with meeting the needs of as many people as possible no matter their characteristics or identities. While accessibility refers to designs that specifically accommodate those with physical and cognitive disabilities, universal and inclusive design go beyond that. Universal design is often mentioned (or confused) with related concepts like accessibility and inclusive design. Despite universal design’s origins in the built environment, it has since branched out and been applied to other kinds of design such as learning and digital technology. This definition is still the standard for universal design today. Universal design was first defined in 1997 by “a working group of architects, product designers, engineers and environmental design researchers” at The Center for Universal Design at North Carolina State University as: “The design of products and environments to be usable by all people, to the greatest extent possible, without the need for adaptation or specialized design.” In this article, we’ll define universal design and lay out its seven core principles and how they apply to digital experiences. However, universal design is unique in that it provides a set of specific principles that can be used to help steer a project from its earliest inception and can be used to evaluate design ideas at each stage of development. Universal design is one of several approaches to ensuring a design is usable for the widest set of users. However, one way UX designers can contribute to ensuring more inclusivity in their designs is to create user experiences that can be used by the widest number of people possible regardless of factors like disability, race, gender, language or other characteristics.Ĭreating user experiences that are inclusive should be an important objective of every project, and one way to ensure this happens is by using the seven principles of universal design to guide the design process. Projects for digital products tend to focus on primary and secondary users instead of all users.Īs a result many users, especially so-called edge-cases such as those with disabilities, are often overlooked and therefore can’t use these products as easily or effectively as the users they’re specifically built for. In an ideal world, the web and other digital tools would be equally available to everyone.
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