I think inclusive design is all about bringing in different voices. I make sure to involve people from various backgrounds so we can create products that work for everyone. By listening to each other and collaborating, we end up with better solutions that resonate with a diverse range of users.

For me, the heart of good design—whether it’s an object, material, or space—is that it appeals to a wide range of users, crosses market boundaries, and remains cost-accessible. To ensure diverse perspectives are heard, when collaborating closely with leading brands, we engage in various types of focus groups. These include participants from different age groups, regions, and cultures to capture a true cross-section of insights. We gather data through surveys, one-on-one interviews, and in-person design councils, then carefully analyze that feedback to guide the design process and ensure inclusivity at every level.

The easiest way to build inclusive products is by hiring, mentoring, and growing a diverse team in-house. Even if you're watching for it but relying on reviews and consultants to catch things you miss, stuff falls through the cracks in ways you can't easily recover from (eg: catching it too late in the process to fix). Building inclusive teams who bring their life experience and different perspectives to the table every single day, means you're finding things in planning and strategy calls instead of relegating those issues to a last-minute QA ticket that gets buried in Jira.

I do my absolute best to know my customer. I would never think of a product created for a diverse market. I am always in pursuit of the best market for my design and designing to have the best performance in that market. To do this, I need the best team that follows the science of testing everything to find the features that the market wants and then exploiting that market. It is always the diversity of thought not the diversity of optics that matters most. Strive to be excellent and exceptional in all things and surround yourself with team members that are more excellent and exceptional than you are. Go forth and conquer.

To ensure diverse user perspectives are heard in inclusive product design, I prioritize continuous user research and testing with a wide range of individuals across different backgrounds. This means involving users from various age groups, ethnicities, and abilities early in the process, through interviews, surveys, and usability tests. For example, when designing a mobile app, I ensure it’s accessible to those with visual impairments by integrating screen reader compatibility, and I gather feedback from users of different age groups to make sure the interface is intuitive for all. Listening to these voices ensures the product truly works for everyone.