Making society inclusive will not be an easy task. Luckily, there are many ways that Universal Design thinking can help with a transition towards an equitable future. Different perspectives of Inclusive Design can help solve many inequity issues.

From a theoretical perspective, inclusivity in businesses is increased with a switch from an Accessibility mindset to a Universal Design mindset. At first glance, these are identical ideologies; however, they have different goals and focuses that are important to note. Accessibility is based on the idea that society needs to make special accommodations (e.g., elevators) to include persons with disabilities, Universal Design encourages designs to include as many people as possible in an equitable manner (Kalbag, 2017). Universal Design uses some principles of Accessibility yet uses them to help more people, outside the disabled community. In addition, accessibility is more focused on legislation making businesses think about it from a legal standpoint (Goodman et al., 2006; Steinfeild & Maisel, 2012). Instead, Universal Design is based on 7 principles, including: “Equitable use… Flexibility in use… Simple and intuitive use… Perceptible information… Tolerance for error… Low physical effort… [and] Size and space for approach and use…” (Steinfeild & Maisel, 2012, p. 72). These principles inform the design process to make products and services more inclusive, making them more usable to a wider audience. Hence, Universal Design helps businesses see that inclusion is a marketing strategy instead of a legal obligation. This fosters a more positive, profitable perspective that is attractive to private organizations.

Collaborative design approaches can promote inclusivity through collaboration with the disabled community. Rieger and Rolfe (2021) studied the engagement between university design studios and persons with disabilities. This was done with the hypothesis that: “...students and faculty base their designs on what they already know about themselves and their peers, or on stereotypical notions of others” (Rieger & Rolfe, 2021, p. 360). When designers do not collaborate, false social predictions are made which hinders unique user groups (Berti et al., 2018). Furthermore, this Study proved that when designers engage with people with impairments, designers become more knowledgeable and comfortable with Universal Design (Rieger & Rolfe, 2021). This collaborative technique can be used in many other situations.Lelegems et. al (2023) takes this concept to another level when collaborating “…from a multilevel perspective, as the goal of the project was not about offering a fixed ‘solution’ but rather to stimulate companies to adopt and integrate UD [Universal Design] principles…” (Lelegems et al., 2023, p. 2). To get a better understanding, collaboration was done with many areas of each corporation to learn more about its operations. It is important to think about different characteristics of the user, or user group, in order to gain a deeper understanding. Collaboration helps designers gain insight to make better design decisions. For example, designers were able to create better business solutions for Brazilian craftsmen by engaging with them to learn about their requirements and objectives (Filho, 2013). As we can see, society is designed more inclusively when different perspectives are brought to the design table. Businesses can use collaborative approaches when making decisions to include more people.

As mentioned above, there are many theoretical approaches to Universal Design which can be transformed into tangible ways to increase inclusion in business operations. When working in the tourism industry, Lelegems and colleagues (2023) developed and used a sevenstep process when consulting businesses around Universal Design. This process approach includes creating screening around Universal Design, implementing the screening, analyzing the results, determining business opportunities, determining priorities, determining plans, and reevaluating the process’ execution (Lelegems et al., 2023). This created a systematic approach to help organizations find where they were lacking in terms of inclusivity and create marketing opportunities through solving these areas. Many businesses have started to advertise their inclusivity initiatives. However, the seven-step process does not work for every organization: it has been suggested that “…tailored approaches,” (Goodman et al., 2006, p. 148) is the best way to aid a variety of organizations. For instance, Apple was able to create VoiceOver for users with visual impairments due to their awareness of inclusive design (“The Business Case for Digital Accessibility,” 2018). Whereas, OXO® kitchen tools rely on Universal Design as a branding strategy (Goodman et al., 2006). Businesses like Apple use Universal Design in their products but don’t focus on it where others, such as OXO®, rely on Universal Design as a key part of their brand’s identity. There are many ways that a business can be motivated to implement Universal Design based on their demographics.

The transition from Accessibility to Universal Design ideologies has expanded the target and adoption of inclusive practices. Design education has implimented this movement with collaborative approaches, especially with persons with disabilities. These frameworks have been adopted by the private sector with unique approaches to Universal Design. Inclusion has been an area of improvement in many facets of society with a variety of tools to help the world become a more equitable place.