Colette Jeffrey

Inclusive design is clever design

Information design is a profession that attracts inquisitive people that notice details. We see complex information and maze-like environments as a challenge not a chore. We automatically start to think about how a signing system or map could be made clearer when we are navigating airports, a ski slopes or cities. When we fill in forms or try to follow a user guide, we work out how it could be made much simpler. But most people are not like us.

We think about who will be using the information we are designing – and how they will use it. But do we really understand how different users see or understand the information we are designing or the environment we are signing? Do we ask enough ‘other people’ what they think?

I will use examples and observations from information design and wayfinding projects to share my experiences of different users, in particular people with special needs, and describe ways in which different people use information and environments. I will discuss the inconsistencies in inclusive design guidance, and the difficulties designers face when trying to meet inclusivity obligations with a single design solution.

Many of us have special needs when we make a journey. Someone using a pushchair needs a ramp, not stairs, as much as someone using a wheelchair or with a broken leg. Someone listening to loud music on an MP3 player will not hear audio information clearly and will be reliant on visual information, just like someone who is registered deaf or hard of hearing. Many people need glasses for reading but wouldn't be wearing them when standing at a bus stop, so they will not be able to read information unless it is in large enough type – just like someone who is permanently partially sighted.

Though many people cannot read easily, they can letter-match if the same word (in the same upper or lower case format), is used consistently on all signs and maps. By 2020 almost half the adult population will be aged over 50, myself included. The likelihood of us having a disability increases with age. We need to be clever now, so as we get older we will still be able to use the information we are designing today, and follow the signs that are currently being installed.

Colette Jeffrey has been an information designer since completing an MA in Information Graphic Design from De Montfort University in 1994. Working at the Information Design Unit, then Enterprise IG, she specialised in wayfinding and sign design. She researched and co-authored the official guidance on wayfinding for NHS hospitals, and has developed wayfinding strategies and information design solutions for 25 hospitals, Wembley Arena, Heathrow Airport, the Natural History Museum and a shopping centre in Dubai. She joined Applied Information Group in 2007 and is directing wayfinding projects in Brighton and Leeds, and is leading on inclusivity issues for Legible London.