Week 2: Getting to know common terms, tools, and frameworks in UX design

Hi there. Great to see you again. We just finished learning about why UX
design is important, an entry level UX designers job responsibilities, and
how to pursue a career in UX design. Coming up, we have a lot of
exciting material to cover. We’ll start by introducing you to
common UX design terms and frameworks. We’ll think about user centered design and
how it’s applied. We’ll introduce you to popular UX
design tools and we’ll learn how UX designers think across platforms from
mobile apps to hardware devices. First, I’d like to share
a little about myself. My path to Google wasn’t straightforward. I started my career in industries
like animation and gaming and I moved to UX design later. So I’ve been in your shoes. I know what it’s like to learn new skills
and enter the world of design for the first time. I love teaching and sharing my knowledge
because it allows me to help others overcome hurdles that I
myself may have encountered. Good luck as you continue the program.

So let’s start by identifying
the difference between user and end user. In the field of user experience design,
one of the most important terms is “user.” A user is any person who uses
a product. In addition, the end user is the specific audience
a UX designer creates something for. Our goal as UX designers is to think
about problems and needs from the end user’s perspective and design an
experience to meet those needs. Think of it like this:
An animated movie about talking cars is designed with kids ages 5 to 7 in mind. Those kids are the movie’s end users, but adults and teenagers will be in the audience too. So they are also users. User experience is how a person,
the user, feels about interacting with or experiencing a product. Do you think everyone in the theater
experiences the movie the same way? Not likely, but if the end users —
5 to 7 year old kids — stay focused, laugh a lot, and cheer at the end, it’s
safe to say it was a good user experience. On the flip side, if those kids
don’t want to watch the movie again, they probably had a bad user experience. When it comes to evaluating user experience, there are a few
key questions to examine. Is the product easy to use?
Is the product equitable? Does the product delight the user? Does the product solve the user’s problem? Answering yes to these questions
are all goals of a good user experience as we previously learned. And these are questions UX designers
are constantly asking themselves to create great user experiences. As a UX designer, you will
focus on the end user, acting as the user’s advocate and
balancing business needs. Your team members might prioritize
other goals for a product, like sales or marketing. And some stakeholders might forget
the fact that they are not the end user. That’s why you, as a UX designer, need to
keep the end user as your main priority. For example, imagine you’re developing
a children’s toy. Your sales and marketing teammates might try to
encourage parents to buy the toy, but ultimately you need to design the toy to
appeal to the child, who is your end user. Okay, now you know the meanings
of key terms like user, end user, and user experience, it’s time to move on to frameworks.

User-Centered Design: Your Compass for Creating Products People Love

Ever wondered why some products feel effortless and intuitive, while others leave you frustrated and lost? The answer lies in user-centered design (UCD), a philosophy that places the user at the core of every design decision. In this interactive tutorial, we’ll dive deep into UCD, equipping you with the tools and empathy to create products that delight and engage.

Part 1: Why Should You Care About Users?

• They hold the purse strings: Users ultimately decide if your product succeeds or fails. By understanding their needs and desires, you build something they actually want to use.
• Goodbye, bias: We all have blind spots. UCD helps you step outside your own perspective and create solutions that resonate with a broader audience.
• Happy users, happy business: When users have a positive experience, they become loyal advocates, boosting your brand reputation and bottom line.

Part 2: The UCD Playbook: Understanding, Specifying, Designing, Evaluating

• Imagine yourself in their shoes: Empathy is key! Conduct user research through interviews, surveys, and observations to understand their context, goals, and pain points.
• Focus, focus, focus: Don’t try to solve everything at once. Prioritize the most pressing user need based on your research and data.
• Get creative, then get practical: Brainstorm innovative solutions, then prototype and test them with real users. Feedback is your fuel for iteration and improvement.
• The proof is in the pudding: Measure and analyze user interactions with your design. Iterate based on what works and what doesn’t to optimize the experience.

Part 3: UCD in Action: From Frustration to Fun with Photos

Let’s witness the power of UCD in practice! We’ll explore how Google Photos transformed from a basic storage app to a beloved memory-reliving platform by embracing user-centered principles.

Part 4: Equip Yourself for User-Centered Success:

• Get hands-on with research tools: Learn about user research methods, from surveys to usability testing, and experiment with conducting your own research.
• Embrace the power of empathy: Hone your ability to see the world through the eyes of your users. Observe, listen, and ask thoughtful questions.
• Build your UCD toolkit: Familiarize yourself with popular UCD frameworks and methodologies to guide your design process.

Remember: UCD is a journey, not a destination. By continually learning, iterating, and putting users at the heart of everything you do, you’ll create products that stand out from the crowd and make a true difference in people’s lives.

Interactive Activities:

• Conduct a mini user research project on a familiar app. Identify a pain point and brainstorm potential solutions.
• Analyze the UCD behind a product you love. What makes it feel user-centered?
• Share your UCD learning journey with others and build a community of empathy-driven creators!

This tutorial breaks down UCD into digestible steps, incorporating real-world examples and interactive activities to make learning engaging and practical. It empowers you to go beyond theory and apply UCD principles to create designs that truly matter.

Let’s start designing with users at the heart of everything!

Hi. In this video, we’re going to explain
user-centered design. Why is it important that designs are centered on the user? Because the user buys
and uses your product. In addition, it’s also
important to solve problems that people
actually experience, rather than only trying to solve problems you personally experience. Focusing on real user problems reduces the impact
of designer bias. Larry Page, one of
Google’s founders, highlighted just how important
user-centered design is when he said, “There is no substitute for personally watching and
listening to real people.” At Google, we take this to heart. Larry’s statement
has morphed into one of Google’s core values today: Focus on the user and
all else will follow. User-centered design puts
the user front and center. Focusing on the user means considering their
story, emotions, and the insights you’ve
gathered about them. To keep our focus on the user, the user-centered design
process has four steps: understand, specify,
design, and evaluate. Following this framework
helps us build products people
actually want to use. First, understand how the user experiences the product
or similar products. Really understanding the end user requires a lot of research, and we’ll talk more
about this later. Next, specify the
end user’s needs. Based on your research, you’ll narrow down
which end-user problem is the most important to solve. Then, design solutions to
the end user’s problem. This is where you’ll come
up with ideas for what the product might look like and actually start
building the product. Finally, evaluate your design against your end user’s needs. Does your design solve
the end user’s problem? You’ll find out here,
and you’ll also do it by testing your
product with real people. It’s important to keep in
mind that as you go through this process, iteration is key. Iteration means doing
something again, by building on previous
versions and making tweaks. Let’s think about an example of user-centered design
in the real world. Five years ago, we
launched Google Photos as a place to store photos
and keep them organized. Over time, we noticed
that users also wanted to revisit memories and
relive treasured moments. To make it easier for
users to do this, we use the user-centered
design process to redesign Google Photos. Now users can easily search
to find their memories. Now you understand the importance
of user-centered design and why designers always keep
the user front and center. Up next, we’ll check out
two additional frameworks that are popular among UX
designers. See you there.

User Experience Frameworks: Guiding Your Design Journey

Ever wondered what makes a truly great user experience? It’s not just about flashy visuals or fancy features. It’s about understanding your users, their needs, and how they interact with your product. This is where UX frameworks come in. They act as your map and compass, guiding you through the design process and ensuring you create products that are not only functional but also delightful to use.

Why Use Frameworks?

Imagine building a house without a blueprint. You might end up with something usable, but it’s likely to be messy, inefficient, and not quite what you envisioned. Frameworks provide the structure and guidance you need to navigate the complexities of UX design. They help you:

• Focus on the right things: Prioritize user needs and business objectives.
• Break down the design process: Divide the project into manageable steps.
• Foster collaboration: Align team members and ensure everyone is on the same page.
• Improve consistency: Create a unified and cohesive user experience.

Popular UX Frameworks:

The world of UX is vast, and so are the available frameworks. Here are two popular options to get you started:

1. Five Elements Framework:

This framework, like its name suggests, focuses on five key layers:

• Strategy: Define your user’s needs and business goals.
• Scope: Determine what you’re building by choosing the features and content.
• Structure: Organize your design and user interaction flow.
• Skeleton: Design the layout and inner workings of the interface.
• Surface: Create the visual user experience, including colors, typography, and imagery.

Think of it like building a house. Strategy is your foundation, scope is your blueprint, structure is your framework, skeleton is the plumbing and wiring, and surface is the paint and decor. Each layer builds on the one below, creating a strong and cohesive user experience.

2. Design Thinking Framework:

This framework emphasizes empathy and user-centered design through five iterative steps:

• Empathize: Understand your users’ needs and challenges through research and observation.
• Define: Formulate a clear problem statement based on user insights.
• Ideate: Brainstorm and generate a variety of potential solutions.
• Prototype: Build low-fidelity versions of your ideas to test with users.
• Test: Gather user feedback and iterate on your prototypes until you find the best solution.

Design thinking is like a journey of exploration and experimentation. You constantly learn from your users and refine your ideas until you reach the perfect destination: a product that truly solves their problems.

Choosing the Right Framework:

The best UX framework is the one that suits your specific project needs. Consider factors like project complexity, team size, and available resources. Don’t be afraid to mix and match elements from different frameworks to create your own custom approach.

Remember, UX frameworks are not rigid formulas. They are tools to guide your design thinking and help you create user-centered products. Use them as your starting point, but always keep your users at the heart of your process.

Beyond Frameworks:

While frameworks are valuable tools, remember that they are just part of the UX design puzzle. Other essential elements include:

• User research: Understanding your users is key to creating a successful experience.
• Usability testing: Continuously testing and iterating on your designs ensures they are truly usable.
• Accessibility: Make sure your product is accessible to everyone, regardless of their abilities.

By combining UX frameworks with these core principles, you can create user experiences that are not only effective but also inspiring and enjoyable.

This tutorial is just a starting point for your UX framework exploration. Feel free to delve deeper into specific frameworks, compare their features, and choose the one that best fits your design journey. Remember, the path to a great user experience is paved with both knowledge and creativity, so don’t be afraid to experiment and find your own way!

What are common frameworks used in UX design? Select all that apply.

Design thinking

Design Thinking is a common framework in UX design. It is centered around creating solutions that address real user problems in a way that is both functional and affordable. User-centered design and the five elements of UX design are other common frameworks.

User-centered design

User-centered design is a common framework used in UX design. It puts the user front-and-center during the design process. Design thinking and the five elements of UX design are also common frameworks.

Five elements of UX design

The five elements of UX design is a common framework in UX design. It consists of steps a designer employs to turn an idea into a working product. User-centered design and design thinking are also common frameworks.

Welcome back. Now that you’ve learned about the users,
end users, user experience, and
the user-centered design process, we’re ready to go through other common user
experience frameworks and their purposes. A framework creates the basic
structure that focuses and supports the problem
you’re trying to solve. You could think of frameworks
like outlines for a project. There are many UX design frameworks and
over time, these evolve or become obsolete thanks to the fast
changing world of technology. We’ve already discussed the user
centered design process. Now let’s check out two other
frameworks you might use: the five elements framework and
the design thinking framework. The five elements of UX design is
a framework of steps a designer takes to turn an idea
into a working product. This framework consists of,
wait for it, five elements: strategy, scope, structure,
skeleton, and surface. Each element refers to a specific layer
involved in creating the user experience, and each layer is dependent on the one
below it. The bottom layer is strategy. This is where you’ll define the user’s
needs and business objectives. The next layer is scope. This is where you’ll determine
what you’re building. You’ll decide on features and
content to be included in the product. The third layer is structure. You’ll
figure out how to organize your design and how the user will interact with it. The next layer is the skeleton, which
you can think of as the layout. Similar to how the layout of
our bones shape our skin, this layer helps detail
how the design works, but just like our bones,
the user won’t see these inner workings. Instead, you’ll see the surface, which
is the top level of the user experience. The surface is how the product
looks to the user. So to recap, we have strategy, scope, structure, skeleton, and surface. Together, these layers make up
the five elements framework. A second common framework
is design thinking. Design thinking is a way to create
solutions that address a real user’s problem and
are functional and affordable. Design thinking has five actionable steps: empathize, define, ideate,
prototype, and test. The first step is empathize, which is
about discovering what end users really need and learning how to think and
feel like them. You might conduct surveys,
interviews, or observation sessions to paint a clear picture of who your end
users are and the challenges they face. The next step is to define the problem
by creating a clear problem statement. The problem statement is a clear
description of the user’s need that should be addressed. The problem statement should
be based on user research and it focuses the team on a clear goal. We’ll talk about problem
statements in more detail later. Once we have defined the problem, we can
start to ideate or brainstorm solutions. You should aim to come up with
as many ideas as possible. By focusing on the quantity of the ideas,
not the quality, you’re more likely to come up
with innovative solutions. Eventually we need to narrow down to
a few ideas that we can prototype. A prototype is a scaled down version of
a product that shows important functions. You should have a clear goal for
your prototype in mind. And finally, we test
the prototypes with users. Testing keeps the user front and
center as it gives users an opportunity to provide feedback before the product
is built. Based on user feedback, you can make changes and improvements or
come up with a completely new idea. Okay, now you know three of the most
used frameworks in UX design, the user-centered design process, the five elements framework, and
the design thinking framework. Adapting any of these frameworks to
suit your specific design needs is really important.
Depending on what company, team, or project you work on, you won’t use
the same framework every time. Coming up, my colleague Shabi will
talk about inclusive design. Enjoy.

Design for the Next Billion Users (NBU) in UX

The Next Billion Users (NBU) are the people who are new to the internet. They come from all over the world and have a variety of needs and experiences. Designing for the NBU can be challenging, but it is also an opportunity to create a more inclusive and accessible internet experience for everyone.

Here are some tips for designing for the NBU:

• Understand the NBU context. What are their needs? What are their challenges? What are their expectations? The more you understand the NBU, the better you can design for them.
• Design for low-cost devices. The NBU are more likely to use low-cost devices with limited resources. Design your experiences to be lightweight and efficient.
• Design for offline use. The NBU may not have reliable internet access. Design your experiences to be usable offline or with limited internet connectivity.
• Use simple language and avoid jargon. The NBU may not be familiar with English or other technical terms. Use simple language and avoid jargon in your UI and documentation.
• Use clear and concise instructions. The NBU may need help understanding how to use your product. Provide clear and concise instructions, and use visuals where possible.
• Provide feedback and error handling. Let the NBU know what is happening and how to correct mistakes. Provide clear and helpful error messages.
• Make it easy to get help. Provide support resources for the NBU, such as FAQs, tutorials, and customer support.

Here are some additional tips:

• Use large fonts and high-contrast colors. This will make your UI easier to read for users with vision impairments.
• Design for different input methods. Some users may not have access to a keyboard or mouse. Design your UI to be usable with touch input, voice input, and other input methods.
• Use universal icons. Avoid using text-based labels for icons. Instead, use universal icons that are easy to understand regardless of language or culture.
• Test with NBU users. The best way to ensure that your product is accessible to the NBU is to test it with NBU users. Get feedback from NBU users early and often.

By following these tips, you can design products and services that are accessible and inclusive to the Next Billion Users.

Which of the following is one of the four big issues facing the Next Billion Users?

Cost

Hey there, great
to have you back. User experience doesn’t just focus on the experience
of existing users; it also pays special attention to people who are about to
become internet users. These are the people
around the world getting online for
the very first time. Did you know that
globally there are a billion people right now just starting to
use the internet? We call these folks the
Next Billion Users, or NBU. In this video, we’ll explain why understanding the Next
Billion Users is crucial as a UX designer and how to get into the mindset of people who
are new to the internet. To start, let’s break down
the big issues facing our Next Billion Users and what these issues mean
for us as designers. The first big issue is cost. People might not
be able to afford expensive phones with big
screens and lots of storage. The next issue is connectivity. Users might not have constant or unlimited
access to the Internet. Digital literacy is
also a crucial issue. People might not be familiar with certain design patterns, calls to action, or icons
that we take for granted. For example, they might not know what swipe means in
relation to a touchscreen. They may not even know
what a touchscreen is. This can affect
their confidence and willingness to explore
new technology. And the final issue to keep in mind is literacy in general. Some users aren’t able to read. Others might need to switch languages depending on
what they’re trying to do. Let’s check out each of these four challenges
more closely. We’ll start with cost. For example, people with
fewer resources tend to buy less expensive devices with
low RAM and limited storage. When a phone has low RAM, it means that the phone
might load webpages more slowly and people might have problems trying to
download files. To solve this problem, a company is not likely to
lower its standard price. Instead it’s up to us, UX designers, with a lot
of help from engineers, to figure out how to improve storage without raising
the price point. The ability to temporarily
disable apps is one way UX designers and engineers
can make this happen. Next, let’s discuss connectivity. A lot of our Next Billion Users don’t have continuous
access to the internet. This might be because the data they have purchased has run out or because their network coverage is inconsistent or sporadic. UX designers should try
to find ways to make the offline experience as rich
as the online experience. For example, giving users
the ability to load video offline and making sure that feature and experience
is well-designed. Moving onto digital literacy. It’s important to mention that your users might not
know how to use a phone, download an app, or
set up an account. Without clear guidance,
they might only use the part of the app that they’re already
familiar with, or worse, they might stop
using the app all together. When designing for
our Next Billion Users, keep it simple. Consider things like
video tutorials to help new users
understand how to install and to use an app and explore new features
with greater confidence. Finally, there’s the issue
of literacy in general. Some users aren’t
able to read or type, and others might want
to switch languages on their device depending on what they’re trying
to accomplish. For example, a user might
want to read in Hindi but type using the
English keyboard. Designing a multilingual
keyboard option, and using universally
understood icons, like an icon with a
currency sign for a banking app, are
just a few key ways UX designers can make it easier for the Next
Billion Users. Beyond these four
common challenges, there is a lot more you need to consider when designing for
the Next Billion Users. For example, if you live
in the United States, Canada, or Western Europe, you might have certain
design biases, like leaving white space to make a document look less crowded, or designing for
left-to-right languages. Now you have an understanding of the issues that the
Next Billion Users face. Our goal is to make every
user feel like we designed the experience just for them
no matter who they are, where they live,
how much they earn, or how highly they’re educated. Gaining a comprehensive
understanding of your user’s context is an important place to start, and you’re already on your way.

My name is Akhil, and I am
a UX designer at Google. I’m a part of the Next
Billion Users team. We design products for users that are coming
online for the first time. In my job, I make
sure that people can interface seamlessly
with technology. An example of that would be, let’s say you want to
send your mom a text and the phone has the
capability to send a text. My job is to bridge that
gap and make sure that you can tell the phone to
send a text to your mom. Now if done well, you won’t be
pulling your hair. The strange thing about
UX design is that you won’t really notice
it if it’s good design. You only notice it when it’s bad. There’s about a billion users that are going to come online from countries like India,
Indonesia, Brazil, Mexico. These users have slightly
different constraints from users that we
typically design for. One of them is that a
lot of these users are using low-end devices.
What does that mean? It could mean that they don’t have enough storage
on their phone, which means they can’t
install a big enough app. That’s an example of using
a low-storage device. Sometimes they won’t
have access to data or they have access to flaky data. You want to make sure
that your app works offline just as well
as it works online. Another example
could be literacy. A lot of these users
aren’t literate or they might not speak English, whereas a lot of the internet is serving people
who speak English. That’s another thing
to think about. How do we make
multilingual interfaces? Or how do we make interfaces that don’t rely on language at all
for someone who can’t read? An interesting example of
this could be the music icon. Something as simple as a music icon that we
take for granted. The music note is
something that a lot of people don’t understand, or
they don’t know what it means. The reason for that, we think is because the music icon is a very Western classical
music piece of iconography. Since a lot of users
aren’t exposed to that, they don’t actually know
what that icon means. I think when technology
is built correctly, it can be a very effective tool. For things like navigating
to a place or finding a partner or seeking information
or learning a new skill. I don’t think your access
to these things should be based on how old or new
you are to technology. A lot of our users that
are coming online for the first time aren’t often
confident with technology. And so to not design for them and not help them have access to the internet
and to technology, it feels like a great
disservice to them.

Welcome back. We just
finished learning about the advantages
of using design tools. Now, we’re going
to talk about why UX designers need to keep different platforms top of mind as they build user experiences. A platform is the
medium that users experience your product
on, such as desktop, mobile web, mobile apps, tablets, wearables, TVs, smart
displays, and more. It’s important to design with multiple platforms in
mind, because users want a product to look and feel similar, no matter what
platform they’re using. In the past, UX designers
could have focused on creating a website only
for a desktop computer. But today, users might look at that same website on
multiple platforms, like their mobile phone,
smartwatch, and TV. UX designers now have to plan for a nearly infinite number of different devices
and screen sizes. Even though UX designers need
to think across platforms, it’s important to
focus on one platform first when you build
a new product. The platform you select
should be the one that best meets your
end users’ needs. Later, you can design for
additional platforms. In addition to having a consistent user experience
across platforms, it’s also important to have
a consistent brand identity. In this case, the brand identity refers to the visual appearance
and voice of a company. For example, Google
Search should look and feel the same on your desktop
computer and mobile phone. It’s important to
keep in mind that some functionalities only exist
within certain platforms. Think about a voice assistant, which allows you to ask
questions or control your phone with your
voice. Pretty clever, right? At first, only mobile phones
had voice assistants. If the product you are designing required the use of
a voice assistant, the only platform it would have worked on was a mobile phone. But fast forward to the present, and voice assistants
are integrated into many other platforms, like desktop computers, TVs,
and even refrigerators. Today, there are more
platforms than ever, which gives us even
more opportunities to design features for our users. It’s definitely an exciting
time to become a UX designer. Next up, we’ll dive deeper
into designing for web, mobile apps, and mobile web.

We’ve started thinking about
designing across platforms. Now, it’s time to learn how users engage with
different devices. First, we’ll discuss
user behavior on mobile phones and
desktop computers. Then we’ll move on to design considerations when designing
for mobile devices. Let’s start with an overview
of the current landscape. There’s a big difference in
the amount of time users spend on mobile phones
compared to desktop computers. An average mobile
session is 72 seconds, while the average desktop
session is 150 seconds, more than twice as long. Why is this important? Because it tells
us that people use different devices
in different ways. Mobile users tend to be goal-oriented, and they are focused on completing
a single task. On mobile phones,
gestures like tapping and swiping help users move
around the screen. Test this out for yourself. Next time you’re
using a mobile phone, think about your own behaviors. Remember the Next Billion
Users we discussed earlier? As those users come online, they’re mostly
accessing the internet from mobile devices. This means the amount
of desktop web traffic compared to mobile web traffic
will continue to shift. It’s important for UX
designers to consider mobile users’
connectivity limitations, like slower processing speeds and longer load times. To be inclusive, we need to design for all types of phones, whether they cost $50 or $500. Users interact with
devices in different ways. Now, let’s go through the
design differences we need to consider based on the devices we’re designing for. First, let’s talk
about responsiveness. In the past, most mobile websites were a mini version
of the desktop site, which often made the mobile
websites difficult to use. Now, almost all websites
use responsive web design. Responsive web design
allows a website to change automatically depending on
the size of the device. For example, a website
homepage might have multiple columns when a user experiences it on a
desktop computer. With responsive web design, when a user visits the same
website on a mobile phone, the multiple columns are
automatically condensed into one column to better
fit a smaller screen. All the content is
still there and the usability is way better. Internet browsing on
desktop computers has been around for longer
than on mobile devices. But since mobile device
usage has been booming, designers have had to start focusing on designing for mobile. Let’s think about a
few best practices when designing for
mobile user experiences. First, call-to-action
buttons should be placed front and center, allowing the user to easily
complete the desired task, like joining an email list or adding an item to
their shopping cart. Second, navigation menus
should be short and simple. We want to simplify the
user experience on mobile. So menu options should only highlight the core
functions of the product. Third, use gestures
that users already do, like tapping and swiping. Gestures should be intuitive
and familiar to users. Fourth, design for
both directions a phone might be held. We need to consider the
vertical portrait view of a mobile phone and the horizontal
landscape view. We want users to have an effective experience no matter how they hold their phone. Fifth, reduce visual clutter. Mobile phones have
smaller screen sizes, so it’s important to keep the
visual experience simple. Phew! That was a lot of new
information to take in. Remember this main
takeaway: users behave differently
depending on their device. UX designers help make that transition happen as
seamlessly as possible. It’s a big responsibility, but a lot of fun too. Up next, Shabi will
be back to talk to you about designing responsively
to meet users’ needs.

Universal Design, Inclusive Design, and Equity-Focused Design Tutorial

Universal design, inclusive design, and equity-focused design are three approaches to designing products, services, and environments that are accessible and usable by everyone, regardless of their abilities, backgrounds, or experiences.

Universal design is the process of creating one product for users with the widest range of abilities and in the widest range of situations. This means designing products that are flexible, adaptable, and simple to use. Universal design also considers the needs of users with different sensory and cognitive abilities, as well as users with different physical limitations.

Inclusive design is a broader approach that takes into account the needs of all users, including those who are traditionally excluded from the design process. This means including people from diverse backgrounds in the design process, and designing products that are accessible and usable by everyone. Inclusive design also considers the social and environmental factors that can impact people’s ability to use a product or service.

Equity-focused design is the most specific approach of the three. It focuses on designing products and services for groups that have been historically underserved or excluded. This means identifying the barriers that these groups face, and designing products and services that address those barriers. Equity-focused design also involves working with members of these groups to ensure that their needs are met.

Here are some tips for incorporating universal design, inclusive design, and equity-focused design into your work:

• Start by understanding the needs of your users. Conduct user research to learn about the different abilities, backgrounds, and experiences of your users. This will help you to identify any potential barriers that they may face.
• Design for flexibility and adaptability. Make sure that your products and services can be used by people with a wide range of abilities. For example, you can provide alternative input methods (such as voice control or gesture control) for users who cannot use a traditional mouse and keyboard.
• Use simple and intuitive design principles. Avoid using complex language or jargon. Use clear and concise labels and instructions.
• Include people from diverse backgrounds in the design process. This will help you to identify potential biases and to ensure that your products and services are accessible and usable by everyone.
• Test your products with users with disabilities. This will help you to identify any areas where your designs need to be improved.

Universal design, inclusive design, and equity-focused design are all important approaches to designing products and services that are accessible and usable by everyone. By following the tips above, you can incorporate these approaches into your work and create products and services that benefit everyone.

Here are some examples of how universal design, inclusive design, and equity-focused design have been used in the real world:

• Universal design: Curb cuts, which make it easier for people with wheelchairs to cross the street, are an example of universal design.
• Inclusive design: Many websites now offer features such as text-to-speech and screen readers to make them accessible to users who are blind or have low vision.
• Equity-focused design: Some public transportation systems offer discounted fares or free rides to low-income riders.

These are just a few examples of how these approaches can be used to create more inclusive and equitable products, services, and environments.

Hey there. I’m Shabi, an interaction designer
here at Google. My role focuses on scaling accessibility across
Google’s design systems. After high school,
I wasn’t really sure what kind of career
would be a good fit for me. I was interested in technology, but I didn’t have any
technical knowledge, so I was afraid I wouldn’t
do well in the field. But eventually, I realized what a huge impact advances in tech had on society and my life. I wanted to harness this power to positively affect the
lives of people around me, especially those who tend to be marginalized or forgotten. As an intern in UX design, I worked on products for
people with chronic pain. I realized how
important and impactful it is to consider the needs
of people with disabilities, and how much I wanted to
create products to help them. So I continued researching and empathizing
with those who are disabled to understand how I could uplift them with my work. It’s a passion I’m
looking forward to sharing with you
during this program. So far, you’ve learned
about user-centered design, which concentrates on
meeting users’ needs. As we mentioned before, there are many UX
design frameworks, and those frameworks
change over time. In this video, we’ll talk
about three more ways to put the user first in your
designs: universal design, inclusive design, and
equity-focused design. Let’s start from the beginning. When designers began
considering how to include an even broader range
of people in their designs, they called it universal design. Universal design is the process of creating one product for users with the widest range of abilities and in the widest
range of situations. Think of it like a
one-size-fits-all approach. Designers propose one
solution for everyone. The problem is that
when you focus on creating one solution
for everyone, the designs lose
their effectiveness. It’s often difficult to
achieve any goals with your product when you have
so many intended users. It’s like when you go to a store that sells a hat
in just one size, the label might read, One-size-fits-all, but the hat still won’t fit a lot of people. Universal design had
the same problem. Even though it had the
intention of being inclusive, it excluded a lot of people. It turns out one-size-fits-all
isn’t a great solution. As UX designers realized that universal design didn’t meet
the needs of every user, the approach to including
people began to change. Designers started thinking about the concept of inclusive design, which focuses on finding solutions to meet
different needs. Inclusive design means
making design choices that take into account personal identifiers
like ability, race, economic status,
language, age, and gender. Inclusive design includes
researchers and designers from traditionally excluded
populations in the process, so they can provide their
unique perspectives during all phases of
the design process. If universal design is a
one-size-fits-all solution, then inclusive design
can be described as solve for one, extend to many. With inclusive design, you
solve for one type of user, and the benefit of
that solution can extend to many other
types of users. Our goal as designers is
to build experiences that are accessible to users with the widest range of abilities. In other words, no one should
be excluded from using a product that we
built because we didn’t consider their
needs when building it. In inclusive design, there’s
no such thing as normal. There’s no average person or target audience that
we should design for. For example, when designing we focus on the needs of
people who are blind and deaf even more than we
consider the needs of those who rely on their sight
and hearing to communicate. Then as we build more
versions of a product, we design for additional
excluded groups, like those with physical
or cognitive disabilities. Designing products,
devices, services, or environments for people with disabilities is
called accessibility. Accessibility is just one
aspect of inclusive design. We’ll explore accessibility
in more detail later. But keep in mind that the
idea of “solve for one, extend to many,” only
benefits the group the design was created
for and existing users. Many groups are still left out. Over time UX designers realized that inclusive
design wasn’t always enough, and that’s where we
find ourselves today as equity-focused design
becomes a new industry goal. Equity-focused design
takes the idea of inclusive design
one step further. It asks designers to focus on designing for groups that have been historically
underrepresented or ignored when building products. The goal of
equity-focused design is to uplift groups that have
been excluded historically. In order to design
with equity as a goal, we first need to
know the difference between equality and equity. The two words sound similar, but they’re actually
two different concepts. Equality means providing
the same amount of opportunity and support
to all segments of society. In other words, everyone
gets the same thing. Equity means providing different levels
of opportunity and support for each person in order to achieve fair outcomes. To better understand
the difference between equality and equity, check out this illustration. The illustration on the
left represents equality because every person gets
the same box to stand on, but because each person has a different height the tallest
person has a better view. The illustration on the
right represents equity, because each person is given what they need. The shortest person is given the tallest stack of boxes to stand on. Let’s explore how this relates to design. Equity-focused design is
a newer concept in UX, and one that we often
discuss at Google. Instead of building products
for groups of people who are currently being excluded, which is the goal
of inclusive design, equity-focused design seeks
to build products that meet the needs of specific
individuals in groups who have been
excluded in the past. So what does this look
like in the real world? Start by identifying a
product you want to build. Then, think about the
groups that have not been served by this type
of product in the past. Finally, build your design
while keeping the groups who identified as underrepresented
front and center. It’s important to
keep in mind that equity-focused design
doesn’t solve all problems, just like inclusive design and universal design don’t either. The key point is that these are all different
approaches to solving issues of underrepresentation and designing for a more
equitable future. These issues are massive,
but vitally important. Often, schools and companies consider accessibility,
inclusive design, and equity-focused design as methods to consider during
the design process, but not as a requirement. But I’m a firm believer that every designer should
know the basics of accessibility and why
creating products for those who are underrepresented
and excluded is a must. As you continue
through your career, you’ll gain more practice and understanding on how to
implement these ideas. We’ll get to some more
applications of this soon.

The Importance of Accessibility in UX

Accessibility is the design of products, devices, services, or environments for people with disabilities. It is important to make products accessible because everyone has different abilities and needs, and everyone deserves to be able to use the products and services they need.

There are many benefits to designing for accessibility. First, it is the right thing to do. Everyone deserves to have access to the same products and services, regardless of their abilities. Second, accessibility can improve the usability of products for everyone. For example, a product that is designed to be used with a screen reader will also be easier to use for people with low vision.

Here are some tips for designing for accessibility:

• Understand the needs of your users. Conduct user research with people with disabilities to learn about their needs and challenges.
• Use simple and intuitive design principles. Avoid using complex language or jargon. Use clear and concise labels and instructions.
• Provide alternative input and output methods. For example, provide text alternatives for images, and allow users to use voice control or gesture control instead of a mouse and keyboard.
• Test your products with users with disabilities. This will help you to identify any areas where your designs need to be improved.

Here are some examples of how accessibility can be incorporated into UX design:

• Enlarged fonts and high-contrast colors can make text easier to read for people with low vision.
• Closed captions and transcripts can make videos and audio content accessible to people who are deaf or hard of hearing.
• Screen readers can read text aloud for people who are blind or have low vision.
• Voice control and gesture control can allow people to use products without having to use a mouse and keyboard.

By designing for accessibility, you can create products that are more inclusive and usable for everyone.

Here are some additional benefits of designing for accessibility:

• Accessibility can improve the user experience for everyone. For example, a website that is designed to be accessible will also be easier to use for people with small hands or people who are using a mobile device.
• Accessibility can help you to reach a wider audience. By designing for accessibility, you can make your products and services available to people with disabilities, who represent a significant portion of the population.
• Accessibility can help you to improve your brand image. Companies that are seen as being inclusive and accessible are often more attractive to customers and employees.

Overall, designing for accessibility is important for a number of reasons. It is the right thing to do, it can improve the user experience for everyone, and it can help you to reach a wider audience.

What are the four main categories designers focus on when considering accessibility in design?

Cognitive, visual, motor, and deaf or hard of hearing

When designers focus on accessibility considerations, cognitive, visual, motor, and hearing impairments are the four main categories.

Hi there. Earlier we introduced inclusive design as
a method for making design choices that take into account personal
identifiers like ability, race, economic status,
language, age, and gender. One of the biggest parts of inclusive design is
designing for accessibility. In this video, we’ll explore the concept of accessibility. First, we’ll review
what accessibility means in the field of UX design. Then we’ll discuss
how many people have a disability globally. Finally, we’ll go through three ways to think
about disability. Let’s recap. The term “accessibility”
refers to the design of products, devices,
services, or environments for people with disabilities. We call it a11Y in the industry, and it’s something that should
guide all of our work. Because I’m sure
you’re wondering, the 11 in the middle refers to the number of letters between the first
letter in the word “accessibility” and
the last letter. Alright, let’s zoom out a little.
What are some of the groups of people we’re considering when
we think about accessibility? In academia and
the tech industry, we tend to think
about accessibility in four big categories: People with motor disabilities; people who are deaf
or hard of hearing; people with cognitive
disabilities, like developmental, learning,
or intellectual disabilities; and people with
vision disabilities. It’s also important
to keep in mind that some people have
concurrent disabilities, where for example, a motor or cognitive disability
can contribute to challenges with speech. It’s easy to assume
that accessibility just means solving for
one specific need, like mobility, but accessibility is much broader than that. Accessibility is
about making things accessible to all people, whether they have an
obvious disability or not. You might be surprised
to find out that more than 1 billion people around the world
have a disability. That’s right, 1 billion. That’s out of a global
population of 7.8 billion. This means 13 percent of people around the world
have a disability. In the U.S., one in four adults identifies
as having a disability. In other words, people with accessibility needs are
a huge percentage of the population, and we’re
missing out on helping a lot of users if we don’t
build accessible products. But demographics
can be misleading; there are a lot more people with a disability than the
statistics account for. In the disability community
and as UX designers, we focus on the social
model of disability, which defines a disability as being caused by
the way society is organized or how products are designed rather than a person’s
ability or difference. As designers, we need to account for disabilities
that are permanent, temporary, or situational
in our designs. Someone with a permanent
disability might have permanent loss of
hearing, sight, or smell. Someone else might have
a temporary impairment, like a broken arm or loss of hearing after
a loud concert. We also need to consider
situational challenges. Situational challenges often aren’t considered
legal disabilities, but we still need to solve them. An example of a
situational challenge is when you’re driving on
a dark road late at night, your vision is probably not as clear as it would
be in the daylight, which is a situational challenge. Another example is
if you’re visiting a country where you don’t
speak the language, your hearing is
situationally limited. As UX designers, we need to
keep all of these types of disabilities in mind as we design features or new products. Think about inclusive
product features that increase magnification, like enlarged font. Or
features that help everyone understand videos,
like Closed Captions. These features were
designed to enhance the experience for people
with a disability but are used by a wide variety of people, and sometimes
products that are originally adopted by
the disability community can reach a wider audience. For example, when the typewriter was invented hundreds
of years ago, it was an incredibly
useful device for people who were blind. But most people who
did not have a disability didn’t see why it was necessary, when they could just
write with pen and ink. Later, the typewriter gained more mainstream
popularity and of course, much later, it inspired the
design of personal computers. Here’s the key takeaway: If we make the design of a product easier for
people with disabilities, we also often make it a better experience
for everyone else. Designing for accessibility
isn’t an obstacle, but a way to get our products to as many users as possible. We’ll elaborate on
how you can apply accessibility principles
to your designs throughout the rest
of the program. We’ll explore the idea of equity-focused design in
more detail later.

Tutorial on the importance of equity-focused design in UX

What is equity-focused design?

Equity-focused design is a UX design approach that centers the needs of marginalized and underrepresented groups. It goes beyond simply making products and services accessible to everyone, and instead aims to create products and services that actively promote equity and inclusion.

Why is equity-focused design important?

Equity-focused design is important because it helps to ensure that everyone has the opportunity to benefit from digital products and services. When products and services are not designed with equity in mind, they can create barriers for people from marginalized groups. For example, a website that is not accessible to people with disabilities may effectively exclude them from using the website’s services.

Equity-focused design is also important because it can help to create more inclusive and welcoming digital experiences for everyone. When products and services are designed with equity in mind, they send the message that everyone is valued and respected. This can help to build trust and engagement with users from all backgrounds.

How to practice equity-focused design

There are a number of things that UX designers can do to practice equity-focused design. Here are a few tips:

• Identify the needs of marginalized groups. The first step in equity-focused design is to identify the needs of the marginalized groups that you are designing for. This can be done through research, user interviews, and community engagement.
• Center the voices of marginalized groups. Once you have identified the needs of marginalized groups, it is important to center their voices in the design process. This means involving them in decision-making and feedback loops throughout the design process.
• Consider the intersectionality of identities. When designing for equity, it is important to consider the intersectionality of identities. This means recognizing that people may experience marginalization in multiple ways, such as due to their race, gender, disability, and sexual orientation.
• Be mindful of your own biases. Everyone has biases, and it is important to be mindful of them when designing for equity. One way to do this is to regularly audit your design process and check for biases.

Examples of equity-focused design in UX

Here are a few examples of equity-focused design in UX:

• A website that is designed to be accessible to people with disabilities. This website might use features such as screen reader compatibility, high-contrast text, and alt text for images.
• A social media app that uses inclusive language and allows users to customize their profile pronouns. This app sends the message that all identities are welcome and respected.
• A job search app that allows users to filter job postings by factors such as salary range, benefits, and company culture. This app helps users to find jobs that are a good fit for their needs and values.

Conclusion

Equity-focused design is an important approach to UX design. By centering the needs of marginalized groups and considering the intersectionality of identities, UX designers can create products and services that benefit everyone.

Which scenario is an example of equitable thinking or design at work?

Providing closed captioning and an interpreter during an online presentation

Providing closed captioning and an interpreter during an online presentation is an example of equitable thinking at work. Not all who attend a presentation have impeccable hearing or sight, especially if there are attending guests who are Deaf, hard-of-hearing, or have difficulties with vision.

So we’ve started discussing
designing for accessibility. But as I’ve said, there’s another
important factor to being inclusive: equity-focused design. In this video, we’ll discuss
equity-focused design specifically as it affects
race and gender. But keep in mind that this
conversation extends beyond just race and gender to things like ability,
age, and socioeconomic status. Let’s explore how this
applies to the field of UX. Equity-focused design means
thinking through all the aspects of a designed product and making sure
the product is both accessible and fair to all genders, races, and abilities. Plus, the designs need to specifically
consider underrepresented and excluded groups. Job applications and census forms are one
area where gender and race needs specific attention, because they usually involve
collecting sensitive data from users. You might have already heard about
the importance of having gender neutral pronouns on these kinds of forms, but
that’s actually just a starting point. When designing these forms,
you should also consider whether a certain question even
needs to be included in the first place. Ask yourself why you’re collecting
this information and whether or not you really need it. For example, a job application probably doesn’t need to
include a question about gender identity. If a question does need to be on the form,
like in a census that’s collecting population data, carefully consider
the wording and make sure it doesn’t have a bias toward what’s considered
the culturally accepted norm. For example, imagine you have a form that
asks respondents to select their gender. One form gives three choices,
male, female, and other. The second form offers a wide
range of choices: male, female, gender-nonconforming, nonbinary, and a
blank field to allow for a written answer. The second form is much more likely
to make everyone feel included, and it will also probably do a better
job at gathering accurate data. Gender nonconforming means
having a gender identity that doesn’t conform to
a society’s gender norms. And nonbinary means having a
gender identity that’s neither entirely male or entirely female. Another example of how equity affects
gender is with public restrooms. If a business offers a
men’s room and a women’s room, each with the same number of stalls,
that would be an example of equality. However, that’s not an equitable design. For one, people identifying as
female often need more time, which means the bathrooms
are more crowded. Plus, people who identify
as gender-nonconforming or nonbinary are not included at all. Restrooms that are
gender neutral, however, are an example of a physical space that’s
designed to treat everyone equitably. Everyone, no matter their gender
identity, has the same opportunity to use each bathroom. Let’s review a few ways this has
played out in the tech industry. When voice assistants were
first introduced at Google, they were trained primarily with
male, native English-speaking voices. As a result, the voice assistants
could easily understand and respond to male voices. But they had a hard time understanding
female voices, because of the higher pitch, and voices of people with strong accents. When the product launched, users were extremely frustrated when
the assistant could not understand them. This example highlights how testing
with a diverse set of users can truly improve a product. Another important aspect of designing for
equity is using inclusive images. Imagine you’re designing an app and you need to create an illustration
to use as a mock profile photo when a user hasn’t added their own
profile photo to their account yet. What does that illustration look like? As a designer, would you automatically
create a picture that looks like you? Or would you be more inclusive
in your representation? Representing diverse people through
icons, illustrations, and photographs requires viewing everything
we design through a critical lens. Avatars like those used in account
profiles should also consider age, race, and gender, among other things. Sometimes designers consciously
include an avatar that specifically challenges
the mainstream image of a user for the product to be more
inclusive and equitable. Inclusive and equity-focused design are
principles with endless implications and this video is just a starting point
for you to build from. As we continue through the program and
start discussing user research, we’ll explore biases and other factors
that impact equity-focused design. Coming up, we’ll consider another
group of users to design for: the next billion users.

Assistive Technology in UX

Assistive technology (AT) is any product, equipment, or system that helps people with disabilities live more independently. In the context of UX, AT includes any features or design elements that make products and services more accessible to people with disabilities.

There are many different types of AT, including:

• Screen readers: These software programs read aloud text on a computer screen, making it accessible to people who are blind or have low vision.
• Screen magnifiers: These software programs enlarge text and images on a computer screen, making them easier to see for people with low vision.
• Speech-to-text software: This software converts speech to text, allowing people with limited mobility or dexterity to type using their voice.
• Text-to-speech software: This software converts text to speech, allowing people with limited vision to read text without having to look at a screen.
• Alternative text (alt text): This is text that describes images for people who are unable to see them. Alt text is also helpful for people with low bandwidth connections.
• Keyboard shortcuts: These are combinations of keys that can be used to perform actions on a computer without having to use a mouse. Keyboard shortcuts can be helpful for people with limited mobility or dexterity.
• High contrast mode: This feature increases the contrast between text and the background, making it easier to read for people with low vision.
• Dark mode: This feature displays text on a dark background, which can be easier on the eyes for some people.

When designing products and services, it is important to consider the needs of all users, including those who use AT. Here are some tips for designing for accessibility:

• Use high contrast colors and avoid using colors that are too similar to each other.
• Provide keyboard shortcuts for all common actions.
• Add alt text to all images.
• Make sure that all text and interactive elements are large enough to be easily seen and used.
• Avoid using flashing images or animations.
• Provide clear and concise instructions.

By following these tips, you can help to ensure that your products and services are accessible to everyone, regardless of their abilities.

Here are some additional tips for designing for assistive technology:

• Test your designs with users who have disabilities. This is the best way to ensure that your designs are accessible and usable for everyone.
• Use accessibility tools and resources. There are a number of tools and resources available to help you design for accessibility. For example, there are screen readers that you can use to test your designs with, and there are also guidelines and best practices that you can follow.
• Get feedback from the community. There are many online and offline communities for people with disabilities. You can ask these communities for feedback on your designs and learn more about their needs.

Designing for accessibility is not just the right thing to do, it is also good for business. By making your products and services accessible to everyone, you can reach a larger audience and increase your market share.

How does color modification assist users with low vision or eye strain?

By using high contrast of colors on a screen

Color modification increases the color contrast on a screen to make it easier to see for users with low vision or eye strain.

Hi, nice to see you again. Earlier we discussed
the concept of accessibility. Now, we’ll explore the various assistive
technologies that can empower anyone with a disability. The term assistive technology, or AT for
short, is used to describe any products, equipment, and systems that
enhance learning, working, and daily living for people with disabilities. In this video, we’ll examine several kinds
of assistive technologies, including color modification, voice control,
screen readers, and alternative text. Then we’ll explore a few
design considerations to keep in mind when designing for
accessibility. Let’s get started. First, it’s important to call out
that there are lots of people who don’t identify as having a disability but
still use assistive technologies. That’s because ATs make our lives easier
and help provide a better user experience. When we think of assistive technology,
we might think of computers, tablets, and smartphones. But AT covers a wide range of devices, like prosthetics, pointing devices,
electric wheelchairs, power lifts, eye gaze and
head trackers, and a whole lot more. AT can also encompass something
as low tech as a pencil holder. Not only does a pencil holder keep
your pencil from rolling away, it also makes pencils easier to grip,
which can be essential for people with certain motor disabilities. Understanding how people with disabilities
use your product is a critical part of the UX design process. First up, let’s examine
color modification. Color modification, like high contrast
mode or dark mode on a device, increases the contrast
of colors on a screen. Black text on a white background, or white text on a dark background
are both examples of high contrast. High contrast makes the interface easier
to see for people with low vision. Color modification also helps anyone
who might experience eye strain when viewing screens in the dark or midday,
when the sun is creating an intense glare. Lots of people use it just
because it’s easier on the eyes. Next, let’s go through voice
control and switch devices. Both of these help people
with limited dexterity and can serve as an alternative
to a keyboard or mouse. Voice control allows users to navigate and
interact with the buttons and screens on their devices
using only their voice. Lots of devices have
settings with this feature. A switch is an assistive
technology device that replaces the need to use
a computer keyboard or a mouse. Switch devices can allow users to control
technology like a computer or smartphone. There are a lot of different
kinds of switch devices, but they all help people with limited
motor ability use technology more easily. Next up, screen readers. Screen readers are one of the most
common assistive technologies for people with limited vision. The software works on mobile
and web devices and reads out loud any on screen text. Screen readers also read any
interactive elements, like buttons, along with non visible text, like the button names,
and any alternative text for images. Alternative text, or alt text,
helps translate a visual user interface into a
text-based user interface. It essentially uses words to
describe any meaningful image for someone who isn’t able to see the image. Alt text is also super helpful for
those with low bandwidth connections, too. If your device is unable to maintain
a connection to the internet, it may struggle to load a
big file or image. Alt text is useful for context
when an image fails to load. As I said before, you don’t need to have a disability
to benefit from assistive technology. Speech to text is a great example. With speech to text, a user composes text
by speaking into their phone or computer. The voice recording is
automatically converted into text. A lot of people find it much easier
to text by talking to their device, because it offers a
hands-free experience and reduces the amount of mental
energy needed to type. Let me show you. [SOUND] Here I am using the speech
to text feature on my mobile device. Pretty cool? There are tons of design considerations
to take into account in order to meet the needs of all users. Later when we build wireframes, we’ll
go through exactly how to incorporate accessibility into your designs. Alright, that’s it for now. You’ve learned the common
UX terms and frameworks, what user-centered design means,
the tools that UX designers use, and how UX designers work across platforms. Plus, you’ve gained a deeper
understanding of inclusive design and equity-focused design. You practiced thinking like a designer, which is a core skill you’ll continue
to build on throughout this program.

My name is Elise and
I’m the accessibility and inclusion lead for
corporate engineering. The work we do touches most
of Google’s products, in that we are creating the internal
stuff that helps ensure the products that we create, eventually,
are accessible and inclusive. I love teaching teams that
there’s value in difference, in the difference that we find
within human beings. Difference helps us think creatively and
helps us see gaps in our products. Often when we look into those gaps and
the insights that we gain from looking at people who experience
the world differently, we build better products
that are more adaptable, that are longer-lasting, and
more innovative. When we talk about accessibility,
we are talking about how to make a product accessible by people
with different abilities. But when we talk about inclusive design,
what we’re doing is we’re looking to difference,
to their different experiences and their needs, because of
their different capabilities. And gathering these insights, and
applying it in a way that it will benefit everyone, whether
they have a disability or not. If we go back in terms of
how we used to do websites, they used to be very text heavy. They used to be more like a book. And people with disabilities, for years, had been advocating for
larger text and less content, much more
smaller chunks of text. And when we started to
design for accessibility, we created sites that were
much more easily consumed. Accessibility is
important to me personally, because I have a hearing loss,
severe hearing loss. I began losing my hearing at 10,
and it progressed over five years, until it reached the profound range. So if you were to cover your mouth and
say 100 words, and I guessed at every single one,
I might get one right. As someone with a hearing loss, I’m constantly struggling with situations
where I need to communicate with others. I use assistive technology
in a lot of different ways. Captioning is the most
valuable thing for me. I also use things such as
Google’s Live Transcribe, which helps in real-time
conversations with people. I use Google Meet’s Closed Captions
to help me understand meetings that I have with my colleagues. There’s also something called InnoCaption, which captions telephone
calls using a live transcriber. That completely changed my world. Because before that was created,
I couldn’t use a telephone. And that was something that really blocked
my capabilities in the work setting. The first piece of advice is
to consider edge cases, or users with difference, in all of
your product development processes. This is where you’re going to gain
some really valuable insight. It should be a normal part
of your development process. It shouldn’t be an add-on. It should be considered
from the beginning. But I think, also, it’s extremely
important to diversify your own network. Start getting to know people
who are different from you, start learning from them. Ask them what their experiences
are like with different technology as they go about their world. Learning these unique experiences
is what’s going to make you see opportunities for
great design in your products.