Foundations of Inclusive UX Design

This unit introduces foundational principles of inclusivity, diversity, equity, and empathy as they apply to user experience design. Students will learn to recognize and mitigate bias, adopt an inclusive lens in everyday contexts, and select basic tools and systemic approaches to assess user needs—preparing them for applied design and prototyping in subsequent units.

Learning Objectives

• Analyze core concepts of inclusivity, diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) and their implications for user experience by comparing inclusive and exclusionary design patterns in real-world examples
• Apply an inclusive design lens and empathy-based methods to document user needs, barriers, and opportunities across diverse populations using basic artifacts such as user notes, personas, and journey maps
• Demonstrate strategies to identify and mitigate personal and systemic biases in design decisions by practicing vulnerability-informed communication and narrative reframing techniques in critique exercises
• Evaluate and select appropriate assessment tools and methods (e.g., interviews, surveys, accessibility audits, observations) to measure intended versus actual impact of design choices and prioritize next steps