What does it mean for us to be inclusive with our design practices and how do accessibility, UX, and usability fit in with inclusive design? Human-centered design, universal design, and Design for All are each concepts related in some way to inclusive design as well. In a short video from the Nielsen Norman Group, UX Specialist, Lexie Kane, introduces the idea that inclusive design could be seen as a welcome mat at the door to our designs and discusses the idea that inclusive design embraces diversity among all people.

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At Halftone, we do our best to recognize the impact these concepts have on our work every day. What follows is a short sampling of articles, sites, tools, and resources we have found helpful in our constant quest for understanding.

Inclusive Design, Universal Design, and Design for All

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Complete Beginner’s Guide to Universal Design (UX Booth Editorial Team)

Exhaustive yet enlightening article that discusses what Universal Design is as well as common methodologies and deliverables. Also includes important people to follow in the field, books, and tools. 

Design for All Foundation (Design for All Foundation)

Provides resources related to Design for All and Universal Design practices.

Inclusive Design (Microsoft)

A set of resources including booklets, toolkits, activities, and videos covering the ideas behind inclusive design.

Inclusive Design Resources (Kickflip)

A great group of links to articles and tools covering accessibility, readability, contrast, and impaired vision.

My Favorite Resources for Learning Inclusive Design and Accessible Design (Jessica Ivins)

A super collection of resources that covers books, tools, podcasts, email lists, and other sources as well.

Accessibility

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The A11y Project (The A11y Project)

Community-driven organization whose goal is to help make accessibility easier to implement across the web. You’ll find patterns, a checklist, resources, events, and other helpful information here.

A11Y Weekly (David A. Kennedy)

Great weekly newsletter covering a variety of web accessibility topics.

Accessibility for Everyone (Laura Kalbag)

A must-read print and ebook publication from A Book Apart covering inclusive and accessible web design.

Designing for Accessibility and Inclusion (Steven Lambert)

A wonderful Smashing Magazine article that looks at accessibility through a variety lenses to show how different aspects of design affect users.

Material Design Color Tool (Google)

Create color palettes with this tool while also checking for color contrast accessibility levels.

WebAIM (Utah State University)

Organization that works to “empower organizations to make their web content accessible to people with disabilities.” Provides helpful articles and tools with a focus on  accessibility.

User Experience and Usability

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6 Principles for Inclusive Design (Lillian Xiao)

From the UX Planet blog, provides an overview of 6 principles to consider when designing for equity and accessibility.

Accessibility, Usability, and Inclusion (W3C WAI)

Provides a comparison of accessibility, usability, and inclusion while also discussing the importance of incorporating these three concepts into our designs everyday.

Inclusive Design: An Overview of Current Thinking (Neha Dhoundiyal)

From the UX Matters blog, an article covering inclusive design, accessibility, and universal design and how these concepts relate to one another.

Inclusive Design: The What, the Why, and the How (Shane Doyle)

From the UX Collective blog, provides an overview about what inclusive design means, why it’s important, and how we can create a web for all. Also addresses myths surrounding inclusive design.

Why Inclusive Design Should Be at the Heart of Your UX Strategy (Catlin Roberge)

Provides an introduction to inclusive design and discusses the importance of inclusivity in physical spaces as well as the digital realm.

As mentioned earlier, this is just a shortlist of an abundance of sources that allow designers to explore inclusive design and several related concepts. Many of these sources have lists of resources of their own. Dive into any of these for more information and to learn about inclusivity and design.