Inclusive Design:
Week 9 - Tuesday 30th November
Today we had a lecture on Inclusive Design which taught me basic design principles in order to design for everyone, taking into consideration disability, ability, language, culture and other forms of 'human difference'.
​
My lecture notes for this topic can be found within Week 9 of my Notion which can be found here: https://www.notion.so/WEEK-9-e644fea0951f40b0b8cb37a9faa43016
WHAT IS INCLUSIVE DESIGN?
"Inclusive Design is a methodology, born out of digital environments, that enables and draws on the full range of human diversity. Most importantly, this means including and learning from people with a range of perspectives" - Microsoft
​
My take on Inclusive Design -
My understanding of Inclusive Design is a way to design a product or service suitable and accessible for a wide range of people, considering all backgrounds and elements of ourselves that might make us different.
​
It's important for us to understand the perspectives of a range of individuals to design a product that will suit their needs/demands as well as everyone else's. To do this I feel it's vital to ask questions, gather research and personal opinions.
​
Phase 4 - Project Proposal
Purpose for Research
Before I begin expanding our concepts, I feel it's necessary to read up on Inclusive Design. During our Lecture on the 30th November, we listened to Kat Holmes 'How Inclusion shapes Design' which taught me a lot about designing for others and ensuring to consider 'the full range of diversity'.
"As technology improves and functionality gets better, businesses that invest in making products that are highly usable and beautiful will experience stronger customer engagement" - Kat Holmes
MICROSOFTS DESIGN PRINCIPLES
​
Microsoft is a great example of a company which take Inclusive Design very seriously. They essentially 'seek out exclusions' and use them as an opportunity to create new ideas to design more inclusively.
​
To gather insight into the needs and desires of people, It's necessary to gather first-hand research, perspectives, opinions to gather an understanding of others.
EP.9: The Animated Guide to Inclusive Design
Microsoft
Research Link:
A short animation video demonstrating Inclusive Design by using a simple 'crossing the road' analogy.
NOTES
-
Thinking inclusively - designing solutions not for ourselves but for everyone.
-
Individuals in all kinds of situations
-
Inclusive Design offers a "more expansive perspective and approach to creating solutions".
-
Mainstream appeal - when Inclusive design is at the core of the product/service
-
Can be as simple as providing subtitles for videos
-
Curb cuts that were initially for wheelchair usage, but now necessary for everyone such as pushchairs and cyclists.
-
"It's essential from mobility, to education to technology"
-
Microsoft aim to use Inclusive Design to "empower individuals to achieve more". This allows them to create products which appeal to everyone!
EXAMPLES OF PRODUCT
Xbox Adaptive Controller
"So everyone can game in a way that works best for them"
NOTES
-
A Unified Hub to make gaming more accessible
-
External devices can be connected such as joysticks, controllers, switches, buttons and mounts.
-
Microsoft gathered input from multiple groups such as The Cerebral Palsy Foundation and SpecialEffect, to gather input to shape the design, functionality and packaging of the product.
-
Individuals can also customise their experience by using the Xbox Accessories App by button remapping.
-
Can be paired with a second controller by using Copilot.
-
Players have the ability to play multiplayer despite only being able to press a few buttons.
-
Inclusive platform for those with limited mobility.
-
Hoops on the packaging to make it easy to open.
Research Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P9f6iJwk4Pg
INCLUSIVE DESIGN: PACKAGING
Not only has the design of the product usability been considered but the packaging too! The way the packaging is designed makes it easier for those with limited mobility to open it. The cardboard box consists of one hoop which can be pulled to open the package.
SUMMARY
​To summarise my research so far, Inclusive Design involves creating solutions for everyone, regardless of disability, culture, background etc. Gathering insight from the perspective of a range of individuals will encourage new and inclusive designs.
​
What would I like to know?
I'd like to establish the issue with design and how this can be changed to be appropriate for all, especially within Games. I aim to create a game as inclusive as possible, taking into account accessibility for all as I feel this is a part of Gaming which isn't considered as much as it could be.
​
Games for Change are a company that strongly encourage inclusive design and games for all.
​
INCLUSIVE PLAY: Designing Games For all
What is the issue with Design?
​
Games aren't always designed with a wider audience in mind. Those with disabilities aren't often considered, and both accessibility and usability are extremely important.
​
This can involve thinking about a range of disabilities such as visual, auditory, speech or cognitive and learning disabilities. Design must be suitable for everyone and features can be adjusted to provide solutions. A basic example can include implementing subtitles for those that are deaf or struggle to hear.
​
Accessibility is critical - making sure everyone can join in. Games for Change focus on addressing barriers that might prevent people from having shared or enjoyable gaming experiences.
​
Representation?
Representation is something I touched on during my first year of University. I wrote an essay based on the representation of Women in games and the lack of diversity and the aspects of Inclusive Design are fairly similar. The representation of people in games must depict inclusivity as well as the design overall - to create an inclusive environment. Individuals should see people like them in the games they play and know that they can become part of the game just as much as anybody else.
​
A student challenge - Design a game for all and break down the barriers that might prevent someone from enjoying the game.
"Key Facts" - (Pasted from website)
-
75% of the US population is a gamer.
-
Roughly 20% of the US population has a disability.
-
75% of the disabled community is made up of those with some form of motor disability.
-
Over 60% of adult gamers use accessibility options even if they don’t have a need for them (on PC).
Evaluation
These facts suggest that accessibility options are extremely important to the gaming community, despite if they're needed or not! This is important to consider when thinking about what's right for our target audience to ensure we design a game that's right for them and will appeal.
Designing for Disability
-
Hearing Loss
-
Vision problems
-
Colourblindness
-
Epilepsy
-
Amputations
-
Motion Sickness
-
Dyslexia
​
Conditions that can effect their visual, auditory, cognitive and motor functions.
​
How can we design for disability?
Cheap and simple design choices can open the game up to a wider audience of gamers.
​
-
Modify the way people control the game - E.g. re-mappable controllers to make it more comfortable for users
-
Controller support - allows for external devices e.g. those with disabilities to use their own hardware to make it easier for them.
-
Advanced controls e.g. adjust sensitivity, colour etc
-
'Uncharted' - map controllers, analog stick to control camera and control of character at the same time allows game to work with just one hand needed
-
Spiderman - gives the option to adjust accessibility such as disable/able parallax-ing, subtitles and to avoid puzzles that require motor ability to aggressively tap buttons etc - perfect for those who suffer with repetitive strain industry.
-
Relax challenge level of the game
-
Adjust combat, puzzle and exploration difficulty
-
Celeste - Adjust speed mode (speed of game -100%)
-
Haptics/rumble - allow players to turn this off or reduce it
-
​Options to pause gameplay - allow players to rest their hands​
-
Offer flexible controls and avoid unnecessary controls
-
Gather feedback from disabled gamers
​
INCLUSIVE DESIGN: Those Ignored that we must design for
Takuma Kakehi
Research Link:
https://uxdesign.cc/inclusive-design-those-ignored-that-we-must-design-for-e48243a62216
Image -
Inclusive Design by Microsoft
What is it?
​
"Including and learning from people with a range of perspectives"
​
Universal vs Inclusive Design
Universal Design focuses on the design of the environment to ensure it's accessible to everyone regardless of our differences. (Disability, age, size, ability etc). Meaning it can be understood and accessed by all.
​
Whereas, Inclusive Design is more about the process of design, focusing on usability and accessibility. It's important when designing for large audiences to consider a wide range of people rather than narrowing your audience down to a small group. This prevents potential consumers from being interested in your product. Feedback from people with disabilities is most important to achieve Inclusive Design, as this can be effective for everyone.
Image Link:
https://eileenasher.com/2020/07/11/designing-for-good-universal-vs-inclusion-vs-equity-design/
What is the impact of this?
​
“Inclusive design doesn’t mean you’re designing one thing for all people. You’re designing a diversity of ways to participate so that everyone has a sense of belonging.”
- Inclusive Design leader Susan Goltsman
​
​
I feel this is a great way to put Inclusive Design into perspective. It's not about attempting to find one solution to solve a problem, it's focused on designing many solutions which impact and benefit a wide variety of people.
Examples: Visual Design
​
Implications such as colourblindness must be taken into account and there are multiple online tools that can be used to do this.
​
During my research I found the following to help specifically with colourblindness and to create more accessible products:
Colour Tool -https://material.io/resources/color/#!/?view.left=0&view.right=0
​
Stark -
​
Colour Brewer -
Examples: Keyboard Usability
​
A basic example is keyboard navigation to improve usability of your desktop environment. This includes using shortcuts such as 'Tabbing' to change and access other tabs faster!
​
This could be helpful for those who struggle to navigate through a lot of content or struggle to use computers/tech.
​
Image Link: https://medium.com/uxreactor/the-ux-case-for-integrating-accelerators-in-your-designs-23825b212332
SUMMARY
​
Designing for Accessibility - to create products that everyone can use
-
Understand the main disabilities including their constraints and limitations
-
Include users with disabilities in user research
​
Content
-
Easy and clear navigation
-
Shortcuts can be used when necessary
-
Headings stand out, easy to read and understand
-
Descriptions that can be read out to users
-
Text is recommended to be a minimum of 16px
-
Consider colour contrast and colourblindness
​
Controls
-
Allow for controller re-mapping
-
Allow for players to modify the way they play the game
-
Take into consideration those that might play with one hand
-
Haptics - adjustments
-
Allow adjustments to be made to puzzles, exploration, advanced controls, sensitivity, colour, appearance etc
-
Allow use of external devices
​
​
Useful infographic I can refer to when designing my game:
Image link: https://medium.com/uxreactor/the-ux-case-for-integrating-accelerators-in-your-designs-23825b212332
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
To summarise my research, I have a better understanding of the tools I can use to improve game usability and accessibility, and different elements to consider. Such as language, disability, ability and other forms of differences between us. It's important to cater for everyone by providing them with solutions that appeals to everyone! This is essential to achieve a product/service suitable for all and to prevent exclusion. I plan to refer to this research during the design of my game when considering the player experience and usability of the game.
