Inclusive persona extension

Kaz Tsuchiya
Bootcamp
Published in
3 min readJul 1, 2021

When conducting UX design using User-Centered Design (UCD) / Human-Centered Design (HCD) methodologies, the target user is defined as a persona, but the unspoken common understanding within the project might be that the persona is usually a person with no disability. As a result, it’s not uncommon for accessibility considerations to be left out of the design deliverables, even when the design process is user-centered.

In order to solve this problem, as a web accessibility expert, I created a design support tool to facilitate the consideration of accessibility in the design process of websites and web applications, named “Inclusive Persona Extension”. This tool aims to add context (e.g., disabled, aged, used in mobile, etc.) to personas and, by looking at them together, promote awareness of accessibility within the project.

VIsual Disabilities (Blindness) sheet
One of the sheet of the Inclusive Persona Extension : VIsual Disabilities (Blindness)

Where To Obtain

Please refer to the README in the GitHub repository (caztcha/Inclusive-Persona-Extension) when using this tool. The original document is available on Google Slides, so you can copy it to your Google Drive, or download it as a PowerPoint, PDF, or text file, as needed.

How To Use

This tool contains eight different contexts, each of which is organized into a single sheet.

  • Visual Disabilities (Blindness)
  • Visual Disabilities (Low Vision)
  • Color-Blindness / Grayscale Print
  • Auditory Disabilities / In a public / Non-Native Speaker
  • Motor Disabilities
  • Cognitive / Learning Disabilities
  • Aging
  • Mobile

Each sheet consists of the following three elements: context, problems, and solutions, based on the idea of pattern language.

  • Context (Type of disability)
  • Problems (Barriers to using the Web)
  • Solutions
VIsual Disabilities (Blindness) sheet, consists of context, problems, and solutions.
Each sheet consists of context, problems, and solutions.

It is a good idea to place each sheet alongside the personas so that they can be referenced by project members at any time. Each sheet has a context icon with a blank circle. You can add an image of the persona and the persona’s name to make it easier to see the connection between the persona and the context.

The persona ‘Alex’ and the Color-Blindness sheet are connected.
An example of connection between the persona and the context.

This tool is mainly intended for the following uses.

  • As a requirement specification to refer back to at any time during UI design.
  • As a cheat sheet for a walk-through from the perspective of people with disabilities during UI evaluation.
  • Also for accessibility workshops.

I hope you will feel free to use it in your team or projects. If you find any typos, inadequacies due to lack of my knowledge, or have suggestions on the content, please post your comments in the Issues section of the GitHub repository.

Special Thanks

Kentaro Ide (UXPRESS Consulting Inc.)

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Published in Bootcamp

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Kaz Tsuchiya
Kaz Tsuchiya

Written by Kaz Tsuchiya

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Japan-based expert in web usability, accessibility, and information architecture. Certified HCD Professional. [Twitter @caztcha] [https://accessible-usable.net]

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