Research Design Connection: Inclusive Design Insights
Holmes, a leading inclusive designer, particularly of technology products, has written an important guide to her field, Mismatch: How Inclusion Shapes Design. As the sell materials for her book note (at https://mitpress.mit.edu/books/mismatch): “Sometimes designed objects reject their users: a computer mouse that doesn’t work for left-handed people, for example, or a touchscreen payment system that only works for people who read English phrases, have 20/20 vision, and use a credit card. Something as simple as color choices can render a product unusable for millions. These mismatches are the building blocks of exclusion. In Mismatch, Kat Holmes describes how design can lead to exclusion, and how design can also remedy exclusion. Inclusive design methods – designing objects with rather than for excluded users – can create elegant solutions that work well and benefit all. ”In the first chapter of her book, Holmes states, “The objects and people around us influence our ability to participate. Not just …