What is inclusive design? It is simple. It means that your product has been created with the intention of being accessible to as many different users as possible. For a long time, the concept of accessibility has been limited in terms of only defining physical spaces. However, change is afoot: personal technology now plays a part in the everyday lives of most of us, and thus it is a responsibility for designers of apps, web pages, and more public-facing tech products to make them accessible to all. Our digital era brings progressive ideas and paradigm shifts – but they are only truly progressive if everybody can participate.

In Inclusive Design for a Digital World, multiple crucial aspects of technological accessibility are confronted, followed by step-by-step solutions from User Experience Design professor and author Regine Gilbert. Think about every potential user who could be using your product. Could they be visually impaired? Have limited motor skills? Be deaf or hard of hearing? This book addresses a plethora of web accessibility issues that people with disabilities face. Your app might be blocking out an entire sector of the population without you ever intending or realizing it. For example, is your instructional text full of animated words and Emoji icons? This makes it difficult for a user with vision impairment to use an assistive reading device, such as a speech synthesizer, along with your app correctly. In Inclusive Design for a Digital World, Gilbert covers the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1 requirements, emerging technologies such as VR and AR, best practices for web development, and more.

As a creator in the modern digital era, your aim should be to make products that are inclusive of all people. Technology has, overall, increased connection and information equality around the world. To continue its impact, access and usability of such technology must be made a priority, and there is no better place to get started than Inclusive Design for a Digital World.

What You’ll Learn

• The moral, ethical, and high level legal reasons for accessible design
• Tools and best practices for user research and web developers
• The different types of designs for disabilities on various platforms
• Familiarize yourself with web compliance guidelines
• Test products and usability best practices
• Understand past innovations and future opportunities for continued improvement

Who This Book Is For

Practitioners of product design, product development, content, and design can benefit from this book.

Review

“I would be comfortable recommending that student team members purchase a copy. I believe it offers a good combination of background information on inclusive design, practical advice for dealing with common interaction limitations, and pointers to additional resources.” (Franz Kurfess, Computing Reviews, September 7, 2021)

About the Author

Regine Gilbert is a user experience designer, educator, and international public speaker with over 10 years of experience working in the technology arena. Her passion for accessibility stems from growing up with family who were disabled. Since working in technology she has spearheaded accessibility initiatives within the organizations in which she worked including creation of guidelines and training. She has a strong belief in making the world a more accessible place―one that starts and ends with the user.

Regine is an Adjunct Professor at NYU Tandon School of Engineering, teaching User Experience Design to students in the Integrated Digital Media Program. In addition, she teaches the part time User Experience Design course at General Assembly. Some of the companies Regine has had the pleasure of working for include Disney, JP Morgan, Four Seasons Hotel and Resorts, Ralph Lauren, Columbia University and Vitamin Shoppe.