This content originally appeared on TPGi and was authored by Ricky Onsman
OK, let’s be honest: that “vs” (for “versus”) shouldn’t even be in this post’s title. It’s not like Universal Design and Inclusive Design are at war with each other.
What they are is two sets of principles that each define an approach to making the world accessible to people with disabilities.
They sound similar, they share many objectives, and they're sometimes used interchangeably, but they're underpinned by different philosophies, based on distinct principles, and achieved in different ways.
I’ll try to clarify what these two terms mean, provide some meaningful examples to help distinguish them from each other, and explain how they relate to Digital Accessibility.
I’ll also explain some related terms that are sometimes used in the same context.
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TL;DR:
- Universal Design aims to make the world accessible to everyone, without the need for customization or adaptation.
- Inclusive Design aims to make the world accessible by allowing people to customize and adapt their experience to suit their specific needs.
- Digital Accessibility aims to make the digital world accessible by removing barriers for people with disability, whether by Universal Design or Inclusive Design.
Note: The definitions, descriptions, and examples used here are not absolute: opinions vary.
Universal Design
Definition
“Universal design” means the design of products, environments, programmes and services to be usable by all people, to the greatest extent possible, without the need for adaptation or specialized design. “Universal design” shall not exclude assistive devices for particular groups of persons with disabilities where this is needed."
U.N. Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) Article 2 – Definitions
This definition can be applied to designing for Digital Accessibility.
Principles
The 7 Principles of Universal Design were developed in 1997 by a working group of architects, product designers, engineers and environmental design researchers, led by the late Ronald Mace in the North Carolina State University (NCSU). The purpose of the Principles is to guide the design of environments, products and communications. According to the Center for Universal Design in NCSU, the Principles "may be applied to evaluate existing designs, guide the design process and educate both designers and consumers about the characteristics of more usable products and environments."
- Equitable use
- The design is useful and marketable to people with diverse abilities.
- Flexibility in use
- The design accommodates a wide range of individual preferences and abilities.
- Simple and intuitive
- Use of the design is easy to understand, regardless of the user's experience, knowledge, language skills, or current concentration level.
- Perceptible information
- The design communicates necessary information effectively to the user, regardless of ambient conditions or the user's sensory abilities.
- Tolerance for error
- The design minimizes hazards and the adverse consequences of accidental or unintended actions.
- Low physical effort
- The design can be used efficiently and comfortably and with a minimum of fatigue.
- Size and space for approach and use
- Appropriate size and space is provided for approach, reach, manipulation, and use regardless of user's body size, posture, or mobility.
Reference: Center for Excellence in Universal Design: The 7 Principles
Digital examples
- open video captions
- touch target size and space
- multiple input methods
- multiple notification methods
- sufficient color contrast
- autocomplete
Resources
Inclusive Design
Definition
Inclusive design considers a wide range of use cases to ensure that people of all backgrounds, abilities, and experiences have equal access to and usability of a product or service.
TPGi: What Is Inclusive Design?
This definition can be applied to designing for Digital Accessibility.
Principles
The 7 Inclusive Design Principles were developed in 2017 by a group of four employees of The Paciello Group, the forerunner of TPGi.
They are intended to give anyone involved in the design and development of websites and applications – designers, user experience professionals, developers, product owners, idea makers, innovators, artists and thinkers – a broad approach to inclusive design.
- Provide comparable experience
- Ensure your interface provides a comparable experience for all so people can accomplish tasks in a way that suits their needs without undermining the quality of the content.
- Consider situation
- People use your interface in different situations. Make sure your interface delivers a valuable experience to people regardless of their circumstances.
- Be consistent
- Use familiar conventions and apply them consistently.
- Give control
- Ensure people are in control. People should be able to access and interact with content in their preferred way.
- Offer choice
- Consider providing different ways for people to complete tasks, especially those that are complex or non standard.
- Prioritize content
- Help users focus on core tasks, features, and information by prioritising them within the content and layout.
- Add value
- Consider the value of features and how they improve the experience for different users.
Reference: Inclusive Design Principles: The Principles
Digital examples
- closed video captions
- adjustable font sizes
- alternative text for images
- video transcripts
- reduced motion settings
- alternative input methods
Resources
- Inclusive Design Principles
- What Is Inclusive Design?
- Best Practices for Inclusive Design
- Inclusive Design Research Centre
Digital Accessibility
Definition
Accessibility is the design of products, devices, services, vehicles, or environments so as to be usable by disabled people.
The Role of Accessibility in a Universal Web
Digital Accessibility refers to the design of digital products, devices, services, or environments for people who experience disabilities. The concept of designing for accessibility and the practice of accessible development ensures both unassisted direct access and compatibility with a person's assistive technology by focusing on removing barriers for people with disabilities.
Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.2 provides several layers of guidance including overall principles, general guidelines, testable success criteria and a rich collection of sufficient techniques, advisory techniques, and documented common failures with examples, resource links and code.
Principles
The guidelines and success criteria are organized around the following four principles, which lay the foundation necessary for anyone to access and use web content. Anyone who wants to use the web must have content that is:
- Perceivable
- Information and user interface components must be presentable to users in ways they can perceive.
- Operable
- User interface components and navigation must be operable.
- Understandable
- Information and the operation of user interface must be understandable.
- Robust
- Content must be robust enough that it can be interpreted reliably by a wide variety of user agents, including assistive technologies.
Reference:
Digital examples
- screen reader support
- voice control support
- keyboard navigation
- focus indication
- single pointer gestures
- skip links
Resources
Related Terms
Equitable Design
Equitable Design focuses on people who have a history of being marginalized and excluded by design that does not meet their needs fairly. Reasons for being, or feeling, marginalized or excluded can include:
- age
- class
- culture
- disability
- ethnicity
- gender
- race
- religion
- sexuality
Designing for equity is a broader concept than designing to provide access for people with disability, and takes into account that these factors may be intersectional, multiplying in effect when experienced in combination. Equitable design focuses on fairness for all.
Resources
- Equitable Design
- Principles and strategies for equitable design
- Equity and Wealth
- Illustrating Equality VS Equity
Ethical Design
Ethical Design focuses on protecting and respecting an individual’s values, needs and goals.
It seeks to actively address issues such as:
- human rights
- privacy
- transparency
- social responsibility
- security
- interoperability
- sustainability
- reliability
These are concepts that are important for everyone, and often require extra consideration for people with disabilities when designing digital experiences.
Resources
- The principles of ethical design (and how to use them)
- Ethical design: principles, benefits and examples
Inclusion
Inclusion is the concept of ensuring all people feel welcomed and respected, and their needs are met. In that way, it is fundamental to the practice of Universal Design, Inclusive Design, and Digital Accessibility.
Inclusivity is a related design concept that focuses on planning to ensure products and services are compatible with all people's needs.
Inclusiveness is another related concept that focuses on the process of actively engaging with the full range of users in the design process to ensure all needs are met.
Think of inclusiveness as a practice informed by inclusivity with the end goal of inclusion.
These are relevant concepts when designing digital experiences for people with disabilities.
Resources
Conclusion
Both Universal Design and Inclusive Design apply to accessibility in general, physical as well as digital.
In terms of designing for the interaction of people with disabilities with the digital world, the principles of Universal Design and Inclusive Design are both entirely compatible with the principles of WCAG, and can be seen as two ways to achieve Digital Accessibility.
Digital Accessibility can be achieved by designing products that require no customization to be usable by people with disabilities, or that can easily be customized by people to suit their needs as a result of a disability. That includes ensuring web and app design is compatible with assistive technologies used by people with disabilities.
Some digital experiences will be made more accessible to people with disabilities by applying the principles of Universal Design, some by applying the principles of Inclusive Design, and some either or both.
A good designer will explore both Universal Design and Inclusive Design as a way of achieving Digital Accessibility.
They will also take into account the concepts, aims, and practices associated with equity, ethics, and inclusion.
The post Universal Design vs Inclusive Design appeared first on TPGi.
This content originally appeared on TPGi and was authored by Ricky Onsman