From Usability to Inclusivity: Why UX Needs a Bigger Mission
The European Accessibility Act (EAA) comes into effect on June 28th 2025, mandating minimum accessibility standards within the scope of digital products and services. The goal: to improve the user experience (UX) of all people, but especially the 87 million within the EU who live with disabilities – including physical, mental, intellectual, and sensory impairments – by removing the barriers that prevent them from interacting with their environment on an equal basis with others.
It’s clear why such an initiative is necessary, and not just within the EU. “For years, UX has been measured by how effortlessly users move through digital experiences; but when ‘effortless’ only applies to a narrow group, we build digital worlds that actively exclude millions,” says Keri Johnson, design lead at Agnostic. And as Heather Morrison, director of user experience at BarkleyOKRP, points out, it’s an issue that’s increasingly urgent to address: “More than ever, digital experiences are critical to so many facets of users’ everyday lives, from grocery shopping to completing a degree or even attending virtual medical appointments. The need for digital experiences informed by the complex needs of all users is more important than ever.”
To the Minimum…
There are many ways to ensure experiences work for everyone, notes Matt Werth, creative technologist at Five by Five Australia. “To name a few, we can begin at the bare minimum by following Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG).”
The WCAG outlines 13 guidelines addressing four main principles of accessibility: perceivable (e.g. alt text, captions, contrast ratio, spacing); operable (e.g. keyboard accessibility, ease of navigation, input modalities); understandable (e.g. readability, predictability, input assistance); and robust (e.g. compatibility with assistive technologies). Tom Simpson, director of UX, MCD (a part of M+C Saatchi Consulting), explains that they “offer a framework that brands can activate through internal training and process shifts, supporting the creation of websites and apps that work for more people, regardless of their needs or limitations. These small, intentional design choices can dramatically increase usability.”
… And Beyond
Yet in an increasingly digital world, UX designers should be empowered to go beyond this baseline. Michael Chadwick, managing director, solutions at Cheil UK, emphasises that inclusive design is about more than just compliance: “It can be a critical part of elevating UX and its ambitions to the next stage in experience design development. There is absolutely a bigger mission here to move from delivering systems-driven functional experiences that work, to building human-driven elevated experiences that can deliver at a higher-level: delighting, enriching, involving.”
So, what does that look like in practice? Pier Ricossa, associate UX designer at tms, illustrates how enhanced rather than merely accommodating design can make digital experiences more immersive: “We go beyond WCAG, embracing principles like Accessible Gaming Guidelines and gaming standards out in the wild. A powerful example is our recent work on a maze mechanic. We went beyond basic navigation cues to develop rich, contextual audio descriptions, empowering users with visual impairments to not only navigate the complex environment but to fully participate in the core gameplay loop.”
Andre Murrell, lead UX designer at Modern Citizens, advocates for going beyond compliance to prevent specific issues that often pass under the radar, but are surprisingly prevalent – like animation-induced motion sickness. “For anyone sensitive to motion, things like animation can easily cause problems, leading to reactions that can linger even after the animation has finished,” so using it “needs to be intentional – not just decoration.” If motion is genuinely necessary to a user’s experience, discomfort can be avoided by implementing pause buttons, smart animations that can detect a device’s ‘reduce motion’, or clear descriptions of what’s happening visually.
Helping Every One Helps Everyone
The premise in reaching more ‘edge’ cases like this, says Megan Fath, US chief design officer at Deloitte Digital, “is that if we design for this smaller specific need, it will benefit all.” Alec Barr, OLIVER’s head of behavioural science and UX, calls attention to how this has been proven true time and time again throughout design history: “Think subtitles: originally designed for the hearing impaired; now ubiquitous among gen z, Netflix-ing commuters and insomniacs alike.” Chris Brunner, head of content at Digitas New Zealand, adds to the list “closed captions, voice assistants, dark mode – built for the few, now daily essentials for the masses.”
It’s also important to consider that even if you’re an ‘average’ user, you can transition to an ‘edge’ case at any time. Alec explains, “The maturation of UX from usability to inclusivity reflects not just ethical progress but a practical wisdom: we all have accessibility needs at some point in our lives, from broken limbs to juggling shopping bags. Human-centred design understands this nuance.”
Kayla Chia, UX designer at Monks Singapore, illustrates the point: “When I broke my arm a few months ago, daily life suddenly looked very different. It forced me to slow everything down – typing was extra challenging, text-to-speech tools became my best friend, and door handles on the ‘wrong’ side of my good arm were my worst enemies.”
Similarly, Stephanie Kwok, now a senior experience designer at R/GA in Tokyo, reflects on how her move to Japan suddenly put up a language barrier in her day-to-day activities: “I quickly realised how challenging it was to navigate daily life without fluency in Japanese. From ordering at restaurants to accessing news, even basic information felt out of reach. This experience made me hyper-aware of how design can exclude or empower in a society where people of diverse nationalities and mother tongues coexist.”
Alec sums it up: "UX carries an ethical mandate not merely to design inclusively, but to help others recognise that inclusivity includes them.”
The Business Case
“Accessibility compliance can often seem in conflict with creative ambitions,” says Annie Bedard, chief experience officer at Astral City, even though we know this isn’t true. The EAA, for example, predicts that the directive will not only make daily digital life more equitable, but it will also drive innovation. Chris agrees, lauding inclusivity and accessibility as “rocket fuel for innovation and a competitive edge for customer-centric brands.”
In any context, giving designers problems to overcome should inspire them to invent marketable solutions, and the companies that offer them will be tapping into the swathes of consumers who feel that their needs have so far been ignored by their competitors.
I can attest to this personally: when Google Pixel began advertising its camera’s enhanced ability to capture darker skin tones – at last – it spoke to my needs, I bought the phone, I raved about it to my family, and both my mother and I have stuck with the brand since. Harri Närhi, UX designer at Imagination, concurs, “From a brand perspective, the business case is clear: inclusive design translates to expanded reach, a broader customer base, and better trust. So ask yourself who you’re designing for and whether you could remove barriers that exclude people.”
Chris Kilcullen, VP/director of digital marketing at H/L, makes the point that even just making your website more accessible can benefit business. “Designing and coding interfaces that are not just usable but highly accessible will give you an advantage over your online competitors. What most organisations fail to realise is that the more inclusive and accessible your website is, the better your site is for SEO. That means lower bounce rates, deeper search engine indexing, higher engagement rates and, ultimately, higher page rankings.”
The Barriers to Breaking Barriers
“Despite knowing that constraints fuel creativity, we continue to design for able-bodied, undistracted users,” laments Chris at Digitas New Zealand.
Keri at Agnostic backs this up with evidence that “most websites still fail basic accessibility standards,” while according to Deloitte Digital’s Megan, “digital experiences for services for the disabled are so complex and difficult to use that private organisations can be hired for a fee to assist in the online application.”
The same old culprits are responsible. “Low budgets and tight deadlines prevent developers or designers from implementing solutions or innovating,” says Matt at Five by Five Australia. Alex Isitt, UX designer at Kitty (a sister agency of ROAST), also cites the difficulty of balancing efficiency with inclusive design, due to the complexity of designing for a wide range of disabilities, a lack of resources, and the fact that certain accommodations demand additional development time.
Still, Alex notes, “While this may require more upfront time and effort, the long-term benefits of a larger, more loyal user base make it a worthwhile investment,” adding that centring accessibility and inclusivity early on in the process saves businesses from having to “make lots of changes further down the line as legal requirements force their hand.” It’s also better for businesses’ pockets, as Keri warns that “poor UX costs brands billions annually.”
Astral City’s Annie Bedard offers a cautionary tale: “While limiting usability to the ‘average’ user may reduce budget and speed to market, doing so can have dire consequences later. Netflix was sued in 2011 for lacking closed captions, setting a precedent for ADA compliance in online businesses. Google’s AI faced backlash for racial bias in 2015 and 2021. In 2019, Domino’s lost a lawsuit over website accessibility, reinforcing digital ADA standards and shifting the digital landscape. All of these examples had a significant amount of financial, reputational and legal repercussions for these brands.”
Homogenous Teams Reinforce Exclusion
The make-up of design teams themselves may be obstructing the path to truly accessible and inclusive experiences, with Keri arguing that “homogenous design teams continue to reinforce exclusion,” and Alex indicating a lack of awareness and training.
One solution is obvious: “We should be building diverse teams with diverse perspectives so that we have representation on both ends,” says Annie.
Momentum Worldwide has been putting this into practice, as UK ECD Jamie Davies tells us: “Recently in some of our work, we have been partnering with various cast and crew members with lived experience of disability to drive the work forward more authentically, as well as ensuring spatial audio descriptions to support visuals, braille, and dyslexia-approved typesetting to reach otherwise ignored audiences. It's starting to set new standards, with events, OOH, print, and advertising taking note of these approaches and practices.”
Meanwhile, at true. senior UX lead Steph Peschel says the team is countering inherent biases by including “explicit reference to accessibility requirements in our acceptance criteria, highlighting to all the importance of inclusive design – from designers to developers,” as well as familiarising themselves with assistive tools to build empathy and highlight regular problem areas.
“There is a wealth of videos and resources available that give insight into the experience and there is likely to be assistive technology already on your device you can try out.” Accessibility checking tools can also provide a helpful starting point, but be careful not to get a false sense of security: “These tools may identify some technical issues, but they cannot replicate lived experiences and often miss critical context-based issues.”
You Are Not Your User
Heather at BarkleyOKRP reminds us that accessibility and inclusivity are inherent in the role of UX practitioners: “We're called to empathise with and understand our wide range of unique users and advocate on their behalf within the experiences we design.” Ultimately, no matter how diverse your team is, that cannot be done without rigorously getting to know the user, which, Steph notes, “can lead to invaluable insights – not only about the current product but also long-term lessons.”
Research is the first step. Alex advises, “Don’t go with a hunch. Always look at historical data and analytics first and glean as much information about your visitors as you can: geographics, demographics, online behavior, and engagement cues.” Diverse users must be a focus from the get-go to prevent the creation of user personas based on amalgamated averages of narrow groups.
This can be tricky – Annie acknowledges that “comprehensive usability research is difficult to automate, and niche user groups that fit a diverse criteria can be difficult to find.” However, it will save time and money in the long run.
It’s one area where AI can help, suggests Harri at Imagination. “Generative tools trained on broader datasets are starting to fill some of the gaps, helping uncover hidden needs and perspectives. They should never replace real user interaction, but are a helpful jumping-off point when options are limited.”
Even with the most thorough research and testing, it’s impossible to anticipate every possible user scenario; but here also, AI can be an invaluable tool, adapting content and interfaces in real time to meet diverse user needs. Stephanie at R/GA considers how this could have been of use when she first moved to Japan: “Imagine a government services website that automatically translates content into a visitor’s native language and simplifies bureaucratic language into more conversational, easy-to-understand text. For an elderly Japanese resident or a newly arrived expat, this could mean the difference between confusion and clarity – empowering them to access essential services without barriers. AI unlocks these possibilities, but the responsibility still lies with us to guide its development.”
Limitless Possibilities Lie Ahead
With initiatives like the EAA giving businesses a much-needed push to start thinking seriously about inclusive and accessible design, we should anticipate that innovation is around the corner. “When you consider the many ways that we can drive tech-enabled inclusivity, including personalised accessibility, you realise we are just in the foothills of what’s possible in terms of experience,” says Michael at Cheil UK.
“[It’s an opportunity to] recalibrate our ambitions, to ensure we build experiences around people, removing barriers to engagement and also enabling the widest possible number of people to not just interact with your experience, but to enjoy it, to delight in it, to participate in it. The need for inclusive design can help to keep pushing us forward in terms of what experience design can achieve.”
