What pandemics can teach us about universal design
The COVID-19 pandemic has changed how humans use digital products. As usage numbers increase, we must think of everyone when designing.
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The current COVID-19 pandemic has taught us so much about the world, humans, and the products that we interact with daily. Now that the majority of the technology workforce has gone remote, it is important to think about everyone when we design products. As we move into this remote age, we should be intentional about how we design for our users.
Disclaimer: I am passionate about designing for all through accessible and inclusive design best practices, however, I am no expert by any means. This article is meant to spread awareness and knowledge. ✨
What do you call, this type of design?
There are a few different design terms that I have heard and collected: universal, accessibility, and inclusive. They are all very similar and have a lot of overlap however in this paper I will be focusing on accessibility and universal design.
“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” — The Center for Universal Design
Accessibility design
Focuses on users with physical or invisible disabilities like low vision, blind, or ADHD. Accessibility design focuses on enabling users with disabilities to perceive, interact, understand, and navigate products.
Universal design
If we want to reduce obstacles so that all people can use a product to their greatest ability, we must think universally. Universal design has the potential to include accessibility into the creation of a product used by a broad spectrum of people with the added cost of retrofitting.
This term emerges from architecture and industrial design — the same methodologies moved to technologies and products with the creation of .com. Under this form of design, products should provide multiple means of representation, action, expression, and engagement for it to be universally used.
Obstacles that we want to design for include:
- Language
- Sight
- Hearing
- Age
- Disabilities (mental/physical/invisible)
- Or, other barriers that prevent the use of a product
User centered accessibility using POUR
As people, we experience things differently from one to another, and so to create conformance on different products, platforms, the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines, or WCAG 2.0, focuses on four high-level principles, known as POUR. The use of these principles suggest that a product will become more accessible and usable for user interaction. We should create with these principles in mind so that anyone (disabled or learning a new language) can interact with the products we are building. Many small teams and orgs have achieved success without having to reinvent the wheel or change the design system to implement these principles. Know that these principles can come in the form of small UI tweaks that can happen overtime.
Perceivable
How users with disabilities perceive the platform with their senses such as sight, touch, and hearing. With that, the platform must encapsulate several senses.
Example: Closed captioning in videos for all users, responsive design in mobile/web to zoom in for readability, color contrast sufficiency for those with color blindness or low vision.
Operable
Products need functionality so that input devices like mouses or keyboards can navigate to any of the elements on the page.
Ex: Users have full control of the platform in things like pausing slideshows, activating dropdown menus, or submitting forms with keyboard, touchscreen or voice commands.
Understandable
The platform/product/website needs to be consistent across language and design so that it’s predictable and understandable by all users of different reading levels. On readability, language should be simple, clear, and concise for screen readers. Design should have logical placement so that screen readers can read the instructions in a linear fashion.
Ex: Move instructive text like “Please enter your password” at the top of the screen and before the form so that the screen reader can read the instructions first.
Robust
Code needs to be standardized to work with different browsers and assistive technologies effectively.
Ex: If coded correctly, screen readers, keyboard only functionality, and other assistive technologies should work with websites, video players, and software.
The business risk that’s getting in the way of making your product POUR
In the technology, we are slowly progressing in how we can make universal design happen. We are now seeing large companies that have design and engineering teams that have set out to make their products accessible.
However this is not the case for all businesses as universal design is not always the first business initiative. The process to design for everyone is time intensive and requires a team of experts to design, build, and think about every potential user and use case. Even so, to audit the old product UI and build a new one or re-vamp existing UI can impose risk. To build this way requires buy-in from product leaders and stakeholders who are looking to push features, not accessibility.
Think of the questions in return: Will our users that love and know our products still enjoy their experience? We need to build features and win the market, why does this matter?
To a business, it matters because not following accessible best practices imposes risk and fines. Businesses must follow WCAG 2.0 to make web content more convenient to people with disabilities. If a business is not WCAG compliant by law, companies in any industry will increase their risk of getting sued. Similarly, any product that is not compliant cannot do business with any government type agency.
What is helping make the case for accessibility and universal design in products is the fact that we are now seeing it reflected in legislation. The Supreme Court case: Domino’s vs. Guillermo Robles, is one that has changed how businesses think about accessibility. Using screen reading software, Robles was trying to order a pizza using Domino’s website and mobile app and was unable to do so. The system was not made for screen readers. Robles then sued Domino’s for not complying with the American Disabilities Act (ADA). Robles won the case because Domino’s was not following ADA requirements for the blind and visually impaired.
Companies that are investing in universal design and accessibility early have seen great success in user inclusion and experience. My personal favorite are the folks at Airbnb, who have created a design system and language with accessibility in mind. Given Airbnb’s potentially diverse user base, it is important that their experience is designed with everyone in mind at any point of the product life-cycle. They have incorporated user research and partnerships with Lighthouse for the Blind and Visually Impaired to better understand and empathize with the guests behind the reservation.
The need for universal design during the pandemic
Users of all diverse backgrounds that may have never thought they would need to rely so heavily on their computers, phones, tablets, etc. are now maximizing the use of these devices and applications to stay connected to family and friends across the world. Since most of us cannot go outside, ordering a pizza on the Domino’s app or getting food delivered via DoorDash/UberEats/Grubhub is now more common than it was a year ago. Nowadays, (if we are lucky and fortunate) our options are tightly limited to digital products.
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We can see that over 70% of US adults used email or messaging to talk with others during the COVID-19 pandemic. In a time of social distancing, our society is relying heavily on technology to feel connected in ways that are arguably new: from virtual happy hours to Netflix parties, and friendly gaming competitions. It cannot be stressed enough that online tools are being used in both professional and casual settings which have resulted in higher usage numbers since COVID-19. (I personally use Twitch to stream my favorite DJ every weekday and their usage numbers peaked 20% in the last month alone).
If we continue to stay at home longer than we expect and rely on digital tools to get us groceries, talk to a friend, make life feel normal again, wouldn’t that mean higher numbers across the board? If so, the amount of Americans aged 65+ who reported emailing or messaging would increase from 74% to who knows, say 80%? If that’s the case and we are still not considering designing for older populations, will digital businesses thrive or see more cases like that of Domino’s, who didn’t take in their entire user base?
The entire world has a new normal right now. And now more than ever, during this unique time, we must empathize for all people across all barriers in what we continue to build. I ask that if you are building products for people, please consider designing with everyone in mind.
Because, if not now, then when?
I’d like for this article to be the start of a conversation about how we can be intentional about designing for everyone during this time and when the pandemic is over. Please feel free to reach out with any questions or comments about these topics. I am more than happy to talk about them and learn more. Until then, stay well everyone.
Resources
- Microsoft Word offers a built-in accessibility checker that can help in Word and Powerpoint, but do note it doesn’t cover best practices!
- In Word/Google/web, The Paciello Group has an accessibility tool and can also do an assessment for your web needs.
- Using the design process for inclusive design: https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=196&v=TAzkrXTGEOM
- How Microsoft used inclusive design into their physical world: https://www.fastcompany.com/90429253/this-is-sportscenter-for-gen-z-a-two-year-old-upstart-named-wave
- Accessibility drives aesthetics: https://uxdesign.cc/accessibility-drives-aesthetics-5aef77b5d2aa
- Want to learn more about POUR? Construct a POUR website here. A great learning guide here and a solid video here.