Equity-Focused Design in UX

In today's interconnected world, user experience (UX) has emerged as a critical aspect of product and service development. However, not everyone's experiences are the same.

The concept of equity-focused design in UX has gained momentum, advocating for the creation of digital experiences that are inclusive, accessible, and mindful of the diverse needs and backgrounds of users.

Understanding Equity-Focused Design

Equity-focused design in UX goes beyond the traditional boundaries of usability and aesthetics.

It centers on the principle that technology should be designed to serve everyone equally, regardless of their age, gender, race, ability, or any other characteristic.

It's about recognizing that people have varying levels of privilege and access, tailoring digital experiences to accommodate these differences.

UX designers need to think about every person who uses the product. This might include people with disabilities or people with very different life experiences from your own.

For example, one user might find an app with a lot of text easy to use. On the other hand, a user with a visual impairment might want different features like sound.

Considering the unique needs of many different people is important work and thinking about equitable design is key. Being equitable means your designs are useful and marketable to people with diverse abilities and backgrounds.

What Equity-Focused Design Is Not

In order to really grasp a new concept, I often find it helpful to know what it's not to better understand what it is.

Although similar, equity-focused design is not the same as universal or even inclusive design.

Universal Design

When designers began considering how to include an even broader range of people in their designs, they called it universal design.

Universal design is the process of creating one product for users with the widest range of abilities and in the widest range of situations.

Think of it like a one-size-fits-all approach. Designers propose one solution for everyone.

The problem is that when you focus on creating one solution for everyone, the designs lose their effectiveness.

It's often difficult to achieve any goals with your product when you have so many intended users.

It's like when you go to a store that sells a hat in just one size, the label might read, One-size-fits-all, but the hat still won't fit a lot of people.

Universal design had the same problem.

Even though it had the intention of being inclusive, it excluded a lot of people. It turns out one-size-fits-all isn't a great solution.

As UX designers realized that universal design didn't meet the needs of every user, the approach to including people began to change.

Designers started thinking about the concept of inclusive design, which focuses on finding solutions to meet different needs.

Inclusive Design

Inclusive design means making design choices that take into account personal identifiers like ability, race, economic status, language, age, and gender.

Inclusive design includes researchers and designers from traditionally excluded populations in the process, so they can provide their unique perspectives during all phases of the design process.

If universal design is a one-size-fits-all solution, then inclusive design can be described as solve for one, extend to many.

With inclusive design, you solve for one type of user, and the benefit of that solution can extend to many other types of users.

Our goal as designers is to build experiences that are accessible to users with the widest range of abilities.

In other words, no one should be excluded from using a product that we built because we didn't consider their needs when building it.

In inclusive design, there's no such thing as normal. There's no average person or target audience that we should design for.

For example, when designing we focus on the needs of people who are blind and deaf even more than we consider the needs of those who rely on their sight and hearing to communicate.

Then as we build more versions of a product, we design for additional excluded groups, like those with physical or cognitive disabilities.

Designing products, devices, services, or environments for people with disabilities is called accessibility.

Accessibility is just one aspect of inclusive design.

But keep in mind that the idea of "solve for one, extend to many," only benefits the group the design was created for and existing users.

Many groups are still left out.

Over time UX designers realized that inclusive design wasn't always enough, and that's where we find ourselves today as equity-focused design becomes a new industry goal.

Equity-Focused Design

Equity-focused design takes the idea of inclusive design one step further.

It asks designers to focus on designing for groups that have been historically underrepresented or ignored when building products.

The goal of equity-focused design is to uplift groups that have been excluded historically.

The Difference Between Equality and Equity

In order to design with equity as a goal, we first need to know the difference between equality and equity.

The two words sound similar, but they're actually two different concepts.

Equality means providing the same amount of opportunity and support to all segments of society. In other words, everyone gets the same thing.

Equity means providing different levels of opportunity and support for each person in order to achieve fair outcomes.

To better understand the difference between equality and equity, check out the illustration above.

On the surface, the illustration appears to represent equality because everyone has the same access to the pool.

The reason it represents equity, is because each person is given what they need in order to access the pool, including the young person with limited mobility being mechanically supported into the pool on the right corner on the image.

Let's explore how this relates to design.

Instead of building products for groups of people who are currently being excluded, which is the goal of inclusive design, equity-focused design seeks to build products that meet the needs of specific individuals in groups who have been excluded in the past.

What does this look like in the real world?

• Start by identifying a product you want to build.

• Then, think about the groups that have not been served by this type of product in the past.

• Finally, build your design while keeping the groups who identified as underrepresented front and center.

It's important to keep in mind that equity-focused design doesn't solve all problems, just like inclusive design and universal design don't either.

The key point is that these are all different approaches to solving issues of underrepresentation and designing for a more equitable future.

These issues are massive but vitally important.

Often, schools and companies consider accessibility, inclusive design, and equity-focused design as methods to consider during the design process, but not as a requirement.

But I'm a firm believer that every designer should know the basics of accessibility and why creating products for those who are underrepresented and excluded is a must.

The Business Case for Equity-Focused Design

Beyond the ethical imperative, there is a strong business case for equity-focused design.

Inclusivity can lead to a larger user base, increased customer loyalty, and enhanced brand reputation.

When users feel that a product genuinely understands and addresses their needs, they are more likely to become loyal advocates.

Challenges and Future Directions

Equity-focused design does present its share of challenges.

Balancing the demands of different user groups, adhering to accessibility standards, and achieving cultural sensitivity can be complex. However, the industry's growing awareness of these challenges is driving positive change.

As technology continues to evolve, the concept of equity-focused design will evolve as well. Designers will need to stay updated on the latest accessibility standards, technological advancements, and cultural shifts to ensure their digital products remain inclusive and relevant.

In Conclusion

Equity-focused design in UX is a transformative approach that redefines how digital products are conceived and built.

If a product is equitable, it means a design is helpful to people with diverse abilities and backgrounds.

In other words, the product’s design addresses the needs of a diverse audience and ensures a high-quality experience is delivered to all users regardless of background, gender, race, or ability.

Equity means providing people with the tools they need to accomplish their goals and support improved quality of life.

Equity goes beyond the concept of equality, where everyone is given equal resources because people often need different tools and support based on their needs.

This is especially important to keep in mind for those in commonly disenfranchised groups.

And as the tech industry moves forward, embracing equity-focused design isn't just a trend; it's an imperative step towards a more just and equitable digital world.