Creating Better Products with Inclusive Design

Originally published January 2023 | Updated October 2026 by Georgina Grogan

"When you design for the edges, you get the middle for free." It's a phrase you'll hear a lot in accessibility circles, and it sums up why inclusive design matters.

Too often, products are built for an imagined "typical" user, and anyone outside that is treated as an edge case: a small group that isn't worth the extra work. But the edges are where the most useful design problems are. Solve them, and you usually end up with a product that works better for everyone.

Subtitles are a good example. They were created so d/Deaf people and people with hearing loss could watch TV, and now they're used by people on busy trains, in noisy pubs and by anyone who simply prefers to read along. Designing for access first doesn't just tick a box. It builds better products.

The problem with designing for the "average"

In 1950, the US Air Force had a problem. Pilots were losing control of their planes, and nobody could work out why. The planes weren't faulty, and the pilots weren't the issue.

The cockpits had been designed around the average body measurements of pilots in the 1920s. So Lieutenant Gilbert S. Daniels measured more than 4,000 pilots across 140 dimensions, then looked at the ten that mattered most for cockpit design. Not a single pilot was average on all ten. A cockpit built for the average pilot fitted nobody.

The solution was to make things adjustable: seats, pedals and helmet straps that fitted the person, rather than expecting the person to fit the design. It's the same thinking behind the adjustable car seats we now take for granted.

That's the heart of inclusive design. Instead of designing for an average that doesn't exist, you design for real people in all their variety.

3 Pillars of a Successful Inclusive Design Process

At Sociability, inclusive design is part of how we build our app. These are the principles we work to.

1. Start with lived experience

The most important part of any design process is talking to the people who'll use what you're building. Disabled people are experts in the barriers they face, so their input shapes our decisions from the start, not after launch.

We speak to people with a wide range of access needs, from wheelchair users to blind and partially sighted people, and from autistic people to people with chronic illnesses. Testing with people who use screen readers, magnification and voice control helps us catch problems that a checklist would miss.

2. Go beyond compliance

The Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) are an essential framework, but they're a minimum standard. A product can meet every guideline and still be frustrating to use.

Compliance is the floor, not the ceiling. If you design for a good experience for everyone, you'll usually meet the standards along the way, and you'll build something people actually want to use. We explore this in more detail in what is functional vs inclusive accessibility?

3. Design with your community, not just for them

User needs and technology keep changing, so we don't wait for feedback to come to us. We go looking for it through:

• User interviews: regular conversations with our community about how they use the app and what would make the biggest difference to them.

• Usability testing: inviting users to try new features before launch, so we can find and fix problems early.

• Surveys: short, targeted questions about which features matter most and which access information people need.

Read more about how we work with our community in inclusive user testing and disability research at Sociability.

Technology and user needs are always evolving, which is why we do not wait for feedback: we actively seek it out. We have established a robust community research program that allows us to co-design our features alongside the people who use them. This proactive approach includes:

• User Interviews: We hold regular video calls with our community to understand their lived experiences. These insights help our team understand exactly how people navigate the app and which improvements will make the most significant difference to their daily lives.

• Usability Testing: Before any official launch, we invite users to experience new features in a remote testing environment. This ensures that every update is effective and intuitive across a wide range of assistive technologies before it reaches the wider public.

• Continuous Product Feedback: Through quick, targeted surveys, we identify what is working well and where we can improve. These snapshots focus on feature priorities and specific accessibility needs, ensuring our product roadmap is always driven by our users.

By maintaining these constant touchpoints, we ensure that inclusive design is not just a theory at Sociability, but a practical, daily reality that keeps our app at the forefront of accessibility.

Resources:

Podcasts

• The Why and How of Accessible Design with Samuel Proulx (The Optimal Path, by Maze): accessibility advocate Samuel Proulx on how to build accessibility into product development.

• Making better product decisions with Teresa Torres (The Optimal Path, by Maze): product discovery coach Teresa Torres on making better product decisions with regular customer feedback.

Books

• The End of Average by Todd Rose: the book behind the Air Force story, on why designing for the average fails everyone.

• Building for Everyone by Annie Jean-Baptiste: Google's guide to inclusive product design.

• Good Services by Lou Downe: how to design services that work for everyone.

Tools

• Stark: accessibility tools that plug into your design software.

• WebAIM Contrast Checker: a free tool for checking colour contrast.

• Tarot Cards of Tech: prompt cards to help teams think through the unintended consequences of what they build.

FAQ: Inclusive design

1. What is inclusive design?

Inclusive design means creating products, services and spaces that work for as many people as possible, whatever their age, background or access needs. Rather than designing for an "average" user, it starts with the people most likely to be excluded.

2. What's the difference between inclusive design and accessibility?

They overlap, but they aren't the same. Accessibility is about removing barriers so Disabled people can use something, often measured against standards like WCAG. Inclusive design is a wider approach: it involves a diverse range of people throughout the design process, so fewer barriers are built in to begin with. Doing it from the start also avoids costly fixes later.

3. How does Sociability help me find well-designed venues?

Inclusive design applies to buildings as well as apps. The Sociability app shows detailed access information for cafés, pubs and restaurants across the UK, including entrances, toilets, lighting and noise. That way, you can see how a venue is designed before you go and decide whether it works for you.

Want to go further?

If you're making the case for inclusive design at work, read our guides on how to build a business case for accessibility and the 5 key factors for accessibility.

We would love to hear your thoughts on this post.

Planning a trip? Download the Sociability app to find accessible cafés, bars, and restaurants that meet your specific needs in seconds. You can also join our community and follow us on Instagram for the latest inclusive spots!

To take your advocacy further, sign up for our free newsletter, Beyond Compliance. We provide practical tips to help you champion accessibility in your workplace and everyday life. We look forward to seeing you there!