1st Edition
by Kat Holmes (Author), John Maeda (Foreword)
How inclusive methods can build elegant design solutions that work for all.
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.
Holmes
tells stories of pioneers of inclusive design, many of whom were drawn
to work on inclusion because of their own experiences of exclusion. A
gamer and designer who depends on voice recognition shows Holmes his
“Wall of Exclusion,” which displays dozens of game controllers that
require two hands to operate; an architect shares her firsthand
knowledge of how design can fail communities, gleaned from growing up in
Detroit's housing projects; an astronomer who began to lose her
eyesight adapts a technique called “sonification” so she can “listen” to
the stars.
Designing for inclusion is not a feel-good sideline.
Holmes shows how inclusion can be a source of innovation and growth,
especially for digital technologies. It can be a catalyst for creativity
and a boost for the bottom line as a customer base expands. And each
time we remedy a mismatched interaction, we create an opportunity for
more people to contribute to society in meaningful ways.
