Time(s)
Description
How we engage users through usability testing, UX research and design and development has far reaching implications beyond business or social metrics of engagement, including political implications, personal implications, and, in many cases, very real consequences. Who we choose to gather our data from, do our research with, design with, and how we think about who our users are can have a profound impact on our designs — which can in turn have profound impacts on our users.
In this short talk, I’ll ask questions and share some ideas intended to provoke thoughts and inspiration for crafting an intentionally inclusive UX practice, and some examples of cases where centering diversity, equity, and inclusion into the UX design process might have prevented othering design decisions.
Key takeaways from the session:
Attendees will gain ideas and strategies to make their designs and products more welcoming and inclusive for a larger variety of folks. They’ll come away with a list of practical considerations, ideas to test and improve designs and products for inclusivity, and some big questions to hopefully help them think about their design process in a more DEI-centered way.
About the speakers
Ashley Brewer is the Senior Web and UX Librarian for Virginia Commonwealth University Libraries. She has 10 years of experience in web and enterprise technology development and UX research and design in libraries and higher education. Critical UX is foundational to her approach, seeking to center inclusion, belonging, accessibility and reparative justice in the design and development cycle and to be continually reflective and responsive about UX tools, methods and practice. She writes, speaks and presents on CritUX; human-centered design; mindful relationships with technology; and innovative organizational strategies to foster a “culture of UX,” to meet organizations where they are in incorporating UX-thinking and practice. Grounded by her background in the arts and humanities, she’s a skeptical technologist and a gentle gadfly.
