Inclusive Design

Did you ever try to use a product or service that seemed like it wasn't made for you?  

For example, a Japanese ATM. 

Or a pair of opposite-handed scissors?

Now, imagine that you are colorblind. 

Or have lost the ability to use both of your hands. 

The number of products that weren't designed for you expands exponentially.

Why? 

There more reasons than there are products, but a unifying explanation is because product and experience designers are not taught to design for the diversity of differently-abled people. 

Designer Kat Holmes calls each one of these failed connections a "mismatch" - and her research shows they are common and add up to more than user inconvenience. 

Mismatch is also the title of Holmes's book, written for product and experience designers to help them rethink their assumptions for the benefit of consumers and society.  

Designing for inclusion is not about marginal improvements.  

Consider the opinion of Satya Nadella CEO of Microsoft, who says Mismatch is a must-read for anyone who aspires to create great products for the greatest number of people. He should know. Microsoft makes products used by billions of people.

Although mismatches can be found everywhere, there is a special opportunity for digital user experience designers because of the sheer number of new products they are shipping and feature-izing. 

Get a copy of Mismatch to learn how inclusion shapes design.