{"id":91212,"date":"2022-10-13T19:10:43","date_gmt":"2022-10-13T08:10:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.steelcase.com\/asia-en\/?p=91212"},"modified":"2024-07-12T19:14:43","modified_gmt":"2024-07-12T09:14:43","slug":"designing-with-not-for","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.steelcase.com\/asia-en\/research\/articles\/topics\/culture-talent\/designing-with-not-for\/","title":{"rendered":"Designing With, Not For"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u201cNothing about us, without us\u201d is traced back to the South African disability rights movement of the early 1990s and communicates the idea that any decision affecting a group of people should not be made without the direct participation of the people being impacted.<\/p>\n

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\u201cDesigning for inclusivity is not a solo endeavor. The more we are able to partner and practice inclusive design, the more we can absorb and build upon the knowledge people are willing to share with us,\u201d says Kamara Sudberry, Steelcase inclusive design leader. \u201cIt\u2019s impossible to share what we are learning without recognizing we are always improving and have much more to learn moving forward.\u201d<\/p>\n

In that spirit, we are working with numerous leading organizations to accelerate our learning. Our community partners include The Valuable 500, the world\u2019s biggest CEO collective for disability inclusion, G3ict (Global Initiative for Inclusive Information and Communication Technologies), IAAP (International Association of Accessibility Professionals), World Enabled, Spork!, and Special Olympics Michigan. These partners are invaluable as Sudberry and her colleagues learn, listen, observe and create more inclusive practices and workplaces.<\/p>\n

Surveys, interviews, roundtables and design exercises all inform a better future workplace. These interactions come from a place of trust, respect and empathy.<\/p>\n

Equity Over Equality<\/h2>\n

There are nearly 8 billion people in the world. Yet for decades workplace design has focused on standards \u2014 giving everyone the same accommodations. Offices with rows and rows of desk, chair, monitor combinations strive for equality<\/em>. But this assumes everyone works in the same way, at the same time, in the same place. That\u2019s simply not true. Hybrid work is just the latest example of how people desire more choice and control over their work experience.<\/p>\n

Today\u2019s era of hybrid work should take on a more inclusive approach to designing the workplace focused on equity<\/em>. Instead of giving everyone the same thing, provide people with a range of experiences that allow them to select what best accommodates their needs.<\/p>\n

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\"Steelcase<\/p>\n

Learn more about how we are helping the world work better by downloading the 2022 Steelcase Impact Report.<\/p>\n

GET YOUR COPY<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Inclusive Design Process<\/h2>\n

Inclusive design is not a destination or an outcome \u2014 it\u2019s a process. Done well, inclusive design is baked into an organization\u2019s culture, process and place. It invites people in, gives them a voice and provides them with agency to participate.<\/p>\n

\u201cDesigning for inclusion begins with recognizing exclusion,\u201d says Kat Holmes, author of Mismatch: How Inclusion Shapes Design. Who is not participating and why? Identifying those left out leads to the next step in the inclusive design process which is to intentionally invite those important voices to identify barriers and co-create ways to accommodate their needs.<\/p>\n

Exclusion can be the result of physical, cognitive and cultural barriers, as well as many others. Exclusion often does not fall into just one area, but can intersect many areas based on someone\u2019s identity and the personal knowledge about the world they\u2019ve gained through direct, first-hand life experience. Reimagining accommodations with people who have been left out is at the heart of innovation, and creates opportunities to solve for one or many forms of exclusion.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s time to move away from the one-size-fits-all approach to the one-size-fits-one approach,\u201d says Sudberry. \u201cBy becoming champions for choice and control, we empower people to find the place and ways in which they feel their best and do their best work.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Community PARTNERS<\/h3>\n