There has been a common theme for me this semester–rather, a common word: inclusivity. I am writing about inclusive education for students with and without disabilities, discussing inclusive communities on campus, and learning about inclusive web design. From all of this, I’ve learned the benefits of inclusivity in different circumstances. More specifically, after reading about The Inclusion Principle, I learned a lot about how inclusivity, universal design and accessibility can be applied to websites. It’s important to think more abstractly about the role inclusivity plays in the web and design world.
One thing that interested me from the article is the relationship between universality and creativity. The article mentions how “some designers feel that universal design limits their creativity.” I can see how some can believe this, but I disagree.
For me, focusing on inclusively or making web design as accessible as possible can lead to more creativity. When designing for all possible audiences–we take into account different experiences, backgrounds and behaviors. It’s up to the web developer to bridge these differences with a common platform for all, which can be a challenge at first. With more ideas and experiences in the mix, creativity can flourish under a challenge. Creativity needs challenges to show its strengths. I think it’s important to realize that even though a design may be universal or inclusive–it doesn’t mean it’s the same as other universal or inclusive designs. There isn’t one way to design a website that’s accessible or universally appealing, of course. Thus, creativity isn’t limited when it comes to universal design. It can be heightened simply by adding more variables or different audiences into any circumstance. It’s up to designers to marry creativity with inclusivity to produce accessible websites–or other interactive platforms in the future.
Another part of the article I found interesting was how a common objection to accessibility was the sacrifice of visually-pleasing material. I think having a aesthetically-pleasing website would complement a website’s accessibility. It could go hand-in-hand. Many accessible techniques as listed in the article apply to the HMTL structure of the page, not necessarily the presentation (or the more visual side). While there are other techniques of accessibility that affect presentation, the article on A List Apart gives examples of visually pleasing web designs that are very accessible.
Overall, I think the ideas of inclusivity and accessibility–as well as other concepts discussed in the article (affordance, universal design)–are important as we design websites and understand how they are being used in society today. It’s important to realize the role of web designers in this whole process.