Building an open and inclusive design process | Figma Blog (opens in new tab)

The post argues that inclusive products emerge from inclusive design processes built on trust, empathy, transparency, and collaboration. Teams should look beyond ideal users, involve localization and accessibility perspectives early, and create open working practices—especially in remote environments. These approaches improve both the product and the way teams understand one another.

Designing for More Than the “Perfect” Use Case

• User research should include diverse users, situations, and challenges—not only the primary persona.
• Designers are encouraged to experience products “in the field,” such as considering delivery workers dealing with broken elevators or unreliable GPS.
• Inclusive thinking can reveal accessibility needs that are:
  • Permanent, such as visual or motor limitations
  • Temporary or situational, such as hearing difficulties in crowded spaces or using a phone with a shattered screen
• Small improvements to copy, color contrast, font size, and layout are useful, but accessibility requires broader organizational prioritization.
• Teams should establish clear ownership for accessibility.
• Designing for essential needs often produces features that benefit everyone.

Making Localization Part of Product Design

• Localization involves more than translating text; it requires attention to syntax, cultural nuance, and how designs adapt across languages.
• Deliveroo replaced a siloed handoff process with the Phrase Figma plugin, allowing designers and localization teams to review localized prototypes earlier.
• Localization experts can identify inaccurate translations or insufficient space before engineers build the final pages.
• Seeing the complete user journey gives localization teams more context and improves collaboration.
• Localization becomes an integrated part of product development rather than a transactional final step.

Creating Transparent Team Processes

• Remote work increases the need for visibility into teammates’ work, availability, and priorities.
• Kate Pincott’s Team Capacity Template helps teams map weekly schedules and identify meeting or workload gaps.
• Regular meetings and short stand-ups can replace informal office interactions and maintain personal connection.
• Teams should make room for what matters during difficult periods rather than optimizing only for efficiency.
• Shared working sessions, such as open Zoom rooms, can recreate some of the spontaneous collaboration of an office.

Inclusive design is ultimately a process practice: broaden the perspectives involved, invite feedback early, and make work visible. Teams that build these habits are better equipped to create products that work across users, cultures, and circumstances.