Inclusive Design Principles

🌎 Designing Cross-Cultural And Multi-Lingual UX. Guidelines on how to stress test our designs, how to define a localization strategy and how to deal with currencies, dates, word order, pluralization, colors and gender pronouns. ⦿ Translation: “We adapt our message to resonate in other markets”. ⦿ Localization: “We adapt user experience to local expectations”. ⦿ Internationalization: “We adapt our codebase to work in other markets”. ✅ English-language users make up about 26% of users. ✅ Top written languages: Chinese, Spanish, Arabic, Portuguese. ✅ Most users prefer content in their native language(s). ✅ French texts are on average 20% longer than English ones. ✅ Japanese texts are on average 30–60% shorter. 🚫 Flags aren’t languages: avoid them for language selection. 🚫 Language direction ≠ design direction (“F” vs. Zig-Zag pattern). 🚫 Not everybody has first/middle names: “Full name” is better. ✅ Always reserve at least 30% room for longer translations. ✅ Stress test your UI for translation with pseudolocalization. ✅ Plan for line wrap, truncation, very short and very long labels. ✅ Adjust numbers, dates, times, formats, units, addresses. ✅ Adjust currency, spelling, input masks, placeholders. ✅ Always conduct UX research with local users. When localizing an interface, we need to work beyond translation. We need to be respectful of cultural differences. E.g. in Arabic we would often need to increase the spacing between lines. For Chinese market, we need to increase the density of information. German sites require a vast amount of detail to communicate that a topic is well-thought-out. Stress test your design. Avoid assumptions. Work with local content designers. Spend time in the country to better understand the market. Have local help on the ground. And test repeatedly with local users as an ongoing part of the design process. You’ll be surprised by some findings, but you’ll also learn to adapt and scale to be effective — whatever market is going to come up next. Useful resources: UX Design Across Different Cultures, by Jenny Shen https://lnkd.in/eNiyVqiH UX Localization Handbook, by Phrase https://lnkd.in/eKN7usSA A Complete Guide To UX Localization, by Michal Kessel Shitrit 🎗️ https://lnkd.in/eaQJt-bU Designing Multi-Lingual UX, by yours truly https://lnkd.in/eR3GnwXQ Flags Are Not Languages, by James Offer https://lnkd.in/eaySNFGa IBM Globalization Checklists https://lnkd.in/ewNzysqv Books: ⦿ Cross-Cultural Design (https://lnkd.in/e8KswErf) by Senongo Akpem ⦿ The Culture Map (https://lnkd.in/edfyMqhN) by Erin Meyer ⦿ UX Writing & Microcopy (https://lnkd.in/e_ZFu374) by Kinneret Yifrah

Invisible UX is coming 🔥 And it’s going to change how we design products, forever. For decades, UX design has been about guiding users through an experience. We’ve done that with visible interfaces: Menus. Buttons. Cards. Sliders. We’ve obsessed over layouts, states, and transitions. But with AI, a new kind of interface is emerging: One that’s invisible. One that’s driven by intent, not interaction. Think about it: You used to: → Open Spotify → Scroll through genres → Click into “Focus” → Pick a playlist Now you just say: “Play deep focus music.” No menus. No tapping. No UI. Just intent → output. You used to: → Search on Airbnb → Pick dates, guests, filters → Scroll through 50+ listings Now we’re entering a world where you guide with words: “Find me a cabin near Oslo with a sauna, available next weekend.” So the best UX becomes barely visible. Why does this matter? Because traditional UX gives users options. AI-native UX gives users outcomes. Old UX: “Here are 12 ways to get what you want.” New UX: “Just tell me what you want & we’ll handle the rest.” And this goes way beyond voice or chat. It’s about reducing friction. Designing systems that understand intent. Respond instantly. And get out of the way. The UI isn’t disappearing. It’s mainly dissolving into the background. So what should designers do? Rethink your role. Going forward you’ll not just lay out screens. You’ll design interactions without interfaces. That means: → Understanding how people express goals → Guiding model behavior through prompt architecture → Creating invisible guardrails for trust, speed, and clarity You are basically designing for understanding. The future of UX won’t be seen. It will be felt. Welcome to the age of invisible UX. Ready for it?

Many teams believe they’re being inclusive when they say, “We kept accessibility in mind from the start." But good intentions aren’t the same as meaningful inclusion. I’ve been doing accessibility and inclusive design work for 25 years. Over the last decade, I’ve focused more deeply on what true disability inclusion really means—especially when it comes to power in the design relationship. Again and again, I’ve seen the same pattern: there are levels to inclusion. And only one of them truly shifts power. Here’s how that journey tends to unfold... ranked from least to most inclusive: Level 1: “We kept accessibility in mind.” You didn’t include disabled people. You included the idea of them. This is empathy without participation, and honestly... it’s not enough. Level 2: “We tested with disabled people just before launch.” There’s progress here—real people were involved. But testing at the end only lets you ask: “Do you accept what we built?” It’s too late for meaningful change. This is just late-stage validation. Level 3: “We tested early AND at the end.” Now there’s room for impact. People with disabilities had a chance to shape the work before it was finished. Their feedback could actually change the outcome—and that matters. Level 4: “We included disabled people throughout the process.” Even better. You've moved from on from a "testing" mindset. You brought people in during idea generation, design, development, and launch. You did research. You listened. You adjusted. That’s inclusion in action. Level 5: “We co-created the solution.” ✅ This is the gold standard. You didn’t just include people—you gave them power. They helped shape the goals, question the methods, and guide the direction. It wasn’t just "your" product. It was "ours" -- co-created together. Your greatest power is to give that power away. Inclusive design means shared decisions—not just shared feedback. If you’re not sure where to start, ask yourself: 👉 Where in our process do disabled people have the power to shape what we build? And if the answer is “nowhere”—it’s time to change that. #InclusiveDesign #Accessibility #DesignLeadership #CoCreation #DisabilityInclusion #UXDesign #ProductDesign

We design for the average. The average doesn’t exist. April is Autism Acceptance Month. Designing for autism is about building products that work for everyone. Cognitive overload affects everyone. Your brain has limits, and more noise can affect how you perceive things. For some autistic users, this is constant and amplified. Many rely on digital products to navigate daily life. Yet most interfaces ignore them. So what happens? We design experiences that overwhelm the people who need them most. And if your product overwhelms autistic users, it’s exhausting everyone else. Here are 5 principles to get you started: 1. Consistent Structure Keep navigation, layout, and UI patterns identical across your entire product. Why: Sudden changes cause anxiety and disorientation. Example: Shopping cart stays in the top-right corner across every page. 2. Literal Communication Use plain, direct language. Skip idioms and metaphors. Why: Vague language requires guessing and creates confusion Example: "Your payment was declined. Check your card number and try again." 3. Sensory Calm Use muted, natural colours. Avoid pure black/white and bright contrasts. Why: Extreme contrast and bright colours cause sensory overload Example: Dashboard with soft beige background, dark grey text, and 3-4 clearly separated sections 4. User Control Default to sound off. Allow people to pause, stop, or disable animations. Why: Sensory needs vary greatly, and customization prevents overload. Example: Toggles for reduced motion, dark mode, font size, and autoplay off by default. 5. Predictable Interactions Provide clear feedback and progress indicators so users always know where they are. Why: Unexpected interruptions trigger anxiety and break focus. Example: Multi-step form shows "Step 2 of 4" with a progress bar, confirms "Your information was saved" after each step. Better design starts with understanding. 👇🏽What would you add to this list? 🔖 Save this for reference ♻️ Share it with your team ---- ✉️ Subscribe for more accessibility and design insights: https://lnkd.in/gZpAzWSu ---- Accessibility note: This infographic, titled Designing for Autism has the same content as the post. It also includes alt text.

An accessibility statement isn’t just words on a page. Accessibility statements are a commitment to ensuring that everyone can access and use your digital content. When a company publishes an accessibility statement but fails to deliver on its promises, it sends a clear message that inclusion isn’t a priority. It creates frustration for users who expect a better experience and undermines trust in your brand. It’s not enough to simply say, “We value accessibility.” Actions speak louder than statements. Testing your website for accessibility, addressing identified issues, having customer support reps who understand assistive technology, having disabled participants in user research, and continuously improving the user experience are critical steps to backing up an accessibility statement with tangible, impactful results. An accessibility statement is a promise to the public. It’s an opportunity to show that you’re committed to creating an inclusive digital space for all. Make sure your website actins match the words of that statement. If you don't, don't be surprised when you receive a demand letter from a litigator. The first piece of evidence in your trial will be the accessibility statement that your organization did not uphold. Alt: The only thing worse than not having an accessibility statement on your website is having one and not acting on its promises. #Accessibility #Inclusion #DigitalInclusion #UserExperience #WebAccessibility #AccessibilityMatters

🇸🇾🇸🇹🇪🇲🇸 🇹🇭🇮🇳🇰🇮🇳🇬 This was the single biggest learning I took from my years as a #diversity and #inclusion practitioner at Google, thanks to my brilliant former colleague Dr. Myosha M. – who introduced the concept to me. And seeing Harvard Business Review spotlight it this month reminded me just how pivotal it's been in shaping my career. The article makes a clear point: many "innovations" create as many problems as they solve, because they're designed in silos. Plastics made life cheaper and more convenient – and created an ecological nightmare. Ride-sharing expanded access – and gutted livelihoods. Breakthroughs and design thinking alone can't handle wicked problems. That's where systems thinking comes in: zooming out to see interdependencies, ripple effects, and relationships before zooming in to act. And honestly, DEI are the definition of a wicked problem: complex, entwined, yet unresolved despite the best efforts of people with noble interests at heart. Too often, we see linear, surface-level fixes like: ‣ Rolling out #UnconsciousBias training hoping that alone changes culture; ‣ Announcing hiring targets without rethinking criteria nor shifting retention practices; ‣ Celebrating "heritage months" without shifting power or budgets. A systems lens flips that: ‣ Instead of just bias training → embed equity checks and accountability loops into promotion processes, feedback systems, and manager incentives; ‣ Instead of hiring targets → redesign career paths so that minoritised employees stay, grow, and lead; ‣ Instead of one-off cultural celebrations → rewire procurement, governance, and leadership pipelines to shift actual resources and decision-making power. The HBR piece – written by Tima Bansal & Julian Birkinshaw – outlines four moves that resonate deeply with DEI work: 1️⃣ Define a desired future state (equity not as a slogan, but as the organisation's actual vision); 2️⃣ Reframe problems so they resonate across stakeholders (it's not "fixing women" but redesigning systems of overwork, pay, and recognition); 3️⃣ Focus on flows and relationships, not just one-off events (think: sponsorship networks, not just mentoring matchmaking); 4️⃣ Nudge the system forward with experiments (pilots that test structural change, then scale). These may sound abstract at first, but they're actually more grounded and effective than the window-dressing that burns out practitioners and disappoints employees while fuelling anti-DEI rhetoric. Because here's the thing: equity work should never be a side project, something delegated to an amateur, or a PR play. It's inherently a system redesign. And once you see it through that lens, the work gets harder — but also genuinely transformative. 💬 Curious: looking at your own org's DEI efforts, which feel most aligned to #SystemsThinking? ⬇️ Link to the article in comments.

50 blind users helped design an email assistant before a single line of code was written. Sriram Ganesh spent his career building things for screens. Video games first, then augmented reality, then learning games for young children. In his early 30s, a genetic condition called cone rod dystrophy started taking his central vision away. The screens he had built for became hard to use. He built Lumin, a voice assistant for email on the iPhone that he uses himself every day.  On AXSChat, I asked him a question: you are a very technical person. How do you make sure that someone who is less comfortable with technology can use this too? His answer was the strongest part of the episode. Before his team wrote any code, they partnered with Lighthouse for the Blind in San Francisco. They recruited 50 people with sight loss and designed the product together with them. The application has one large call button. You end a call by saying "end the call", because finding a small button on a screen is real effort when you cannot see well. The text stays readable even at maximum font size, which is where many popular applications break. Then he gave us a live demonstration, connected to his real inbox. Seven emails summarised. An attached photo described in detail. A reply composed by voice, corrected mid-draft, and sent. All of it done without touching the screen. Debra Ruh came into the conversation sceptical. She uses voice tools every day and did not see why another one was needed. By the end of the demonstration she was asking how to sign up. Her reaction told me more than any product description could. Neil Milliken, who has used speech recognition systems for more than 25 years, said the onboarding was the easiest he had seen. He also made an important point: he has attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, and the conversational design worked for him because it did not ask him to remember commands. That says something about how well the interaction was designed. Neil and Debra then pushed Sriram on trust. His answer was unusually specific. Lumin lists its cloud providers on the first screen of the application, not in the terms and conditions. The company pays for contracts that stop those providers from training on user data. You can ask "Lumin, what do you know about me?" and it will tell you. You can delete your account and everything is wiped within 24 hours. Listen to the full conversation with Sriram Ganesh of Lumin. Link in the comments. #AI #Accessibility

Ever seen a program built to include… that ends up limiting instead? I have. A couple of times. I’ve seen initiatives designed with care and good intent but often, they unintentionally narrowed possibilities: 🔒 Steering specific marginalized people toward certain roles 🔒 Labeling them in ways that don’t reflect their full potential 🔒 Reinforcing the very boxes these programs aimed to break That’s why I’m a fan of applying Universal Design Principles to DEI work. Organisations need to rethink how they design programs and this framework has so much to offer. Originally developed to make physical spaces more accessible, Universal Design is a powerful framework for inclusion. It pushes us to design DEI related programs that are usable by all employees, to the greatest extent possible, without the need for separate, specialized design. 💥 It’s time we stop designing for categories and start designing for conditions. So ask yourself: how the conditions need to change for everyone can participate, contribute and thrive. Whether you're designing leadership tracks, trainings, mentorship programs or onboarding experiences, Universal Design helps you serve specific needs without excluding others. 💡 Curious how to do it? Here’s a sheet with more practical info that could inspire you to redesign. Because real inclusion starts not with asking, "Who do we need to support?"but "How can we design this to remove barriers so everyone can participate?" What are your thoughts on that? Please share in the comments 👇

Synesthetic Touch. Most packaging speaks to the eyes. Synesthetic design begins when attention extends beyond what's seen to what's touched, heard and inferred through use. The idea comes from synesthesia, where one sensory input triggers another. Applied to packaging, it reflects the way products are actually understood. Visuals are still important, but they aren't sufficient on their own. Physical interaction adds information, with touch, sound and sometimes scent shaping interpretation alongside graphics. From this perspective, synesthetic design is less about adding sensory effects and more about coordination. The pack is treated not as a surface but as an object. Once it's picked up, handled and opened, information about flavour, texture, mood or quality is communicated through interaction rather than explanation. That coordination sits between visual and haptic signatures. The visual signature covers colour, form, typography and graphics. The haptic signature is read through the hand: weight, balance, surface texture, edge definition and the resistance felt as a closure opens. When these cues support one another, packaging communicates intuitively. A rich cream in a heavy jar with a soft matte finish sets expectations before the lid turns. A citrus drink in a cold, faceted bottle suggests sharpness as soon as it's held. The 2018 Fanta redesign shows this alignment in practice. The update extended beyond graphics to the bottle itself, reshaped so its form echoed the squeeze of an orange. Structure and flavour message worked together, making the pack legible through touch as well as sight. Because packaging is handled repeatedly, these signals build over time. Each lift, twist and pour reinforces the same information, shaping understanding through use rather than attention. As shelves grow more crowded and visual distinction narrows, this kind of coherence carries more weight. Designing for the full interaction allows packaging to communicate through handling and use, not just appearance.