Inclusive design is about recognizing who you are excluding — often without realizing it — and evolving your process to include the full spectrum of human diversity.
Inclusive design is not a luxury or an afterthought. It is a necessity for products that want to reach and serve the broadest possible audience — including people with disabilities, different cultural backgrounds, and diverse needs. The trap is to assume “inclusive” means only accessibility features for a few. Inclusive design is broader — it is about building for the full range of abilities, preferences, and contexts.
This is especially critical in India, where diversity is vast and often hidden beneath digital interfaces. Your actual job as a product manager or designer is to recognize who is excluded by your current product assumptions — and then fix it.
Recognize exclusion before you design
The first principle of inclusive design is to recognize exclusion — who is left out by your product, and why. This goes beyond obvious disabilities to include cognitive, cultural, linguistic, and situational exclusions.
Talvinder often asks:
When was the last time you got frustrated because your mom couldn’t use a digital app?
When was the last time you judged someone’s tech skills based on gender or background?
When was the last time you assumed everyone in your team was OK skipping meals, ignoring religious fasting?
These everyday moments reveal the blind spots in product design. For example, an app designed only for English speakers excludes millions of Indian users who prefer Hindi, Tamil, or Telugu. A delivery app that assumes every user has a smartphone screen and finger dexterity excludes elderly users or those with motor impairments.
Recognizing exclusion requires humility and curiosity. You must ask: Who is not using my product? Who struggles silently? What assumptions am I making about users? Microsoft’s Inclusive Design practice is a treasure trove of methods to uncover these exclusions systematically. Their guidebook emphasizes starting with “exclusion recognition” as the foundation.
Learn from diversity, don’t erase it
Inclusive design is not about making a “one-size-fits-all” product. It is about learning from diversity and tailoring experiences that respect differences.
For example, Zomato’s current diet filters are limited to vegetarian and non-vegetarian, with little else. This excludes users with vegan, keto, allergen-free, or other dietary needs. Talvinder points out that introducing a wider range of diet-specific filters can unlock new user segments. In fact, users with specialized diets often have higher average revenue per user (ARPU) because they are willing to pay for tailored options.
This principle applies beyond food. Recommendations, promotions, and content should be personalized to users’ habits, health goals, cultural backgrounds, and languages. Using data analytics to understand these diverse needs is key.
Learning from diversity means embracing complexity, not simplifying it away. Your product should adapt to different workflows, preferences, and contexts. This leads to richer user experiences and stronger engagement.
Solve for one, extend to many
Talvinder highlights a powerful pattern in inclusive design: solve for one use case deeply, then extend the solution to many others.
For instance, a feature designed for people with hearing loss to enjoy movies better might turn out to benefit everyone — subtitles help noisy environments, non-native speakers, and situations where sound is muted. This is called “solving for one, extending to many.”
This approach avoids the trap of designing vaguely for “everyone” and instead focuses on a real, specific need. The solution then generalizes naturally.
Microsoft and Google use this approach extensively. It is why interview questions often include: How would you design YouTube for elderly users? or How would you design a voice interface for people with speech impairments?
In India, this mindset is critical because the user base spans ages, literacy, languages, and abilities unlike anywhere else. For example, designing a voice input system that understands Indian accents and dialects is a way to solve a real exclusion and extend accessibility widely.
Inclusive content and communication matter
Inclusive design is not just UI controls and filters. Your content strategy plays a major role in inclusivity.
Talvinder critiques common content pitfalls like promoting binge eating or impulse shopping without regard to health or mindfulness. Instead, content should emphasize balanced habits, educate users about nutrition, and even highlight the environmental impact of choices.
For example, a food delivery app could feature tips on healthy eating, portion control, or sustainable sourcing. This respects users’ well-being and cultural values.
Communication also means respecting language diversity and literacy levels. Simple, clear language with local idioms and visuals helps avoid alienation.
Accessibility features are necessary but not sufficient
Accessibility features like text-to-speech, high contrast modes, and screen reader compatibility are essential for users with visual or motor impairments. Talvinder stresses that accessibility is an attribute within the broader inclusive design methodology.
For instance, Zomato could improve accessibility by adding:
- Text-to-speech for menus and dish descriptions
- High contrast visual themes for low-vision users
- Voice commands for hands-free navigation
These features help a specific group but also benefit others — elderly users, people in low-light environments, or those with temporary injuries.
In India, accessibility is often overlooked but is a growing priority. Companies that invest in it gain loyal users and comply with emerging regulations.
Feedback and adaptation close the loop
Inclusive design is not a one-time checklist. It requires continuous feedback and adaptation based on diverse user experiences.
Talvinder advises implementing robust feedback mechanisms that allow users to report accessibility issues, suggest improvements, and share their unique needs. This might include:
- In-app feedback forms focused on inclusivity
- Community forums for users with disabilities
- Analytics to detect drop-offs or struggles in specific user segments
Continuous improvement based on this feedback ensures your product evolves with its user base rather than leaving some behind.
Inclusive design is good for business
Talvinder points out a practical truth: inclusive design is not only ethical but also good business.
For example, users with specialized diets tend to spend more if their needs are met. Elderly or disabled users represent a significant and growing market segment. Accessibility features reduce support costs by making products easier to use.
Swiggy and Zomato are in direct competition. If Zomato introduces inclusive features like discreet delivery options for privacy or voice input for ease of use, it can win users who feel excluded elsewhere.
Capitalism drives investment in inclusive design. Microsoft and Google have dedicated teams and budgets for it because they see the business value.
Inclusive design in Indian product contexts
India’s diversity makes inclusive design a complex but rewarding challenge.
- Multilingual users: More than 700 million internet users speak over a dozen major languages. Design must go beyond translation to culturally relevant content and UX.
- Varied literacy and tech skills: Interfaces must accommodate users from first-time smartphone owners to tech-savvy urbanites. Voice interfaces and simplified navigation help.
- Situational disabilities: Crowded, noisy, and low-light environments require adaptable designs (e.g., voice commands, offline modes).
- Cultural and religious practices: Fasting, festivals, and dietary restrictions affect usage patterns and content needs.
Talvinder encourages teams to map their user journeys with these dimensions in mind and identify touchpoints for inclusion.
Tools and resources for inclusive design
Microsoft Inclusive Design is the definitive resource for this methodology. Their website includes:
- The Inclusive Design 101 guidebook
- Activity cards for team exercises
- Cognitive exclusion worksheets
- Case studies on inclusive AI and product equity
Talvinder recommends treating these materials as a textbook for inclusive design. They provide practical activities and frameworks to embed inclusivity into your process.
Additional tools for accessibility testing include:
- WAVE Web Accessibility Evaluation Tools
- axe Accessibility Testing
These help catch common issues before launch.
Meeting scene: Inclusive design in action at Zomato
Product strategy meeting at Zomato, Bangalore office
Product Manager: “Our diet filters only support vegetarian and non-vegetarian. We’re missing users who follow keto, vegan, or allergen-free diets.”
Data Analyst: “Analytics show these users have 20% higher ARPU. We should expand filters.”
UX Designer: “The interface is complex for older users. We could simplify navigation and add voice search.”
Accessibility Lead: “We lack text-to-speech and high contrast modes for visually impaired users.”
Product Manager: “Let’s prioritize these improvements. Inclusive design will open new markets and improve retention.”
CEO: “Good. Make sure we have feedback channels to learn continuously.”
This meeting marks a shift from generic design to inclusivity-driven product development.
Zomato must decide how much to invest in inclusive design features to serve diverse Indian users.
Field exercise: Apply inclusive design to your product
Choose a product you use frequently — it could be a mobile app, website, or physical device.
- Identify at least three ways the product excludes or inconveniences users with different abilities or backgrounds. Consider physical, cognitive, linguistic, cultural, and situational factors.
- For each exclusion, write down one practical design change that could reduce or eliminate it.
- Reflect on which inclusion improvements could unlock new user segments or increase engagement.
Share your findings with your team or peers to start a conversation on inclusive design.
Test yourself: Inclusive design prioritization
You are a PM at a mid-stage Indian food delivery startup competing with Zomato and Swiggy. User feedback shows that elderly users struggle with the app’s navigation, and users with visual impairments report difficulty reading menus. Your engineering team is stretched thin with new feature development. You must decide which inclusive design improvements to prioritize in the next quarter.
The call: Which inclusive design improvements do you prioritize, and how do you justify this decision to stakeholders focused on growth and revenue?
Your reasoning:
Where to go next
- Explore Microsoft’s Inclusive Design methodology: Microsoft Inclusive Design
- Learn practical activities to apply inclusivity: Inclusive Design: 101 Guidebook
- Understand cognitive inclusion challenges: Inclusive Design for Cognition
- Improve accessibility testing skills: Web Accessibility Evaluation Tools
- Integrate inclusive content strategies: Ethical PM
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