Case Study

VW Inclusive Mobility - Mobility service design for people who experience disability


Overview
The Inclusive Mobility program is a social initiative from Volkswagen Group that helps design vehicles and services that improve transportation and the quality of life for everyone, especially people with disabilities. My team focused specifically on products and services that promoted inclusion.

Role
Design Lead, UX/UI Designer, iOS prototyping, Design Research

Timeline
2018-2019


My work on this project is largely confidential. Please contact me directly if you'd like to learn more about the outcomes and what we designed. I'm at smithvisual@gmail.com

 

The Landscape of Accessible Mobility

The Volkswagen Inclusive Mobility project is a multi-year project that looks to include everyone in the autonomous vehicle future, especially those with disabilities. As part of this project I helped conduct foundational research that led to the formation of the Inclusive Mobility Initiative. We conducted many hours of in-person interviews with people that have impairments which make mobility & traveling difficult. Below is a description of the Volkswagen Inclusive Mobility Initiative.

 
 

 
 

Untangling the language around disability

One of the main takeaways from our early research was the specifics of language around impairment & disability. The specifics of language provide two primary advantages:

 
 

1) Our team would have unified definitions that could be used when discussing product concepts, research, designs, and business strategy. When one person is talking about disability, but another thinks that means impairment, the results and focus of the team suffer.
2) Working with people that experience disability & impairment made us empathetic to the nuances of each situation. During research, using the specific terminology around disability & accessibility was huge in getting to person’s root needs.
 

 
 

So, Is it a disability or an impairment?
What is accessible vs. inclusive, and why does it matter?

 
 

Insights for Untangling Inclusive Design

To address the language around inclusive design and accessibility, I’ve clarified these three introductory insights. There are also core principles of inclusive design used by many practicioners: Microsoft Design is a leader in Inclusive Design, and I’ve borrowed heavily from their Principles & toolkits. Check their work out here: https://www.microsoft.com/design/inclusive/

 
 

Disability is a mismatch between our needs and the design features of a product, built environment, or service.

Impairment happens when a person’s physical /psychological health, structure, and/or function gets changed or damaged.

 
 

Disability can be placed along a spectrum to understand the related limitations across permanent, temporary, and situational disabilities. This spectrum helps foster empathy and shows how a solution can scale to a broader audience.

 
 

Inclusion is about considering people of all abilities, and adressing moments of exclusion within products, services, and systems. Part of inclusion is making designs accessible to all people. Not all accessible designs are inclusive.