They’re pretty easy to identify: ordering off a menu written in a foreign language, climbing onto a counter to reach a shelf, a blind child at a science museum touchscreen. Holmes defines moments where design meets exclusion as moments of mismatched interaction. But here are some important things I learned that we can all act on today. It’s impossible to distill any book of this depth into a “3 easy steps” article, and I also don’t want to share so much of her information that you’re not inspired to go out and find the book.

The Smithsonian’s Cooper Hewitt Design Museum embraced her inclusive design toolkit. Holmes led Microsoft’s program for inclusive product innovation from 2010 to 2017, and went on to work with Google and found her own firm, sign. This deceptively slim volume from Kat Holmes is a simultaneously sobering and inspiring treatise on how we design products with unconscious exclusionary habits, and how insight, empathy and collaboration can not only lead to more inclusive products, but also to a more satisfying future for us all. “Each time we remedy a mismatched interaction, we open an opportunity for more people to contribute to society in meaningful ways.” -Kat Holmes That’s about a billion people who are often left unconsidered when new products are designed. Why should we think about inclusive design when we approach a new project? Consider this, the World Health Organization states that approximately 15% of the world’s 7.8 billion people experience some form of disability. Mismatch: How Inclusion Shapes Design, by Kat Holmes MIT Press, 2018 Illustration by Greg Chinn for Outer Voice How Inclusion Shapes Design

Mismatch book kat holmes