Faculty

Designing for All

Bauer Professor Focuses on Addressing Diverse Marketplace Needs

Story by Julie Bonnin
Photography by Nicki Evans

Microsoft's Adaptive X-Box, Nike's FlyEase sneakers and Oxo’s Good Grips kitchen tools are just a few examples of inclusive product designs that have proven to have universal appeal.

Bauer Professor of Marketing Vanessa Patrick, who is also Associate Dean of Research for Bauer College, is among those leading the conversation on the need for organizations to broaden their lens to address diverse marketplace needs with her recent research on inclusive design.

In “Designing for All: Consumer Response to Inclusive Design,” published in the Journal of Consumer Psychology, Patrick and her co-author Candice Hollenbeck note that inclusive design functions as “a match between a user and design object that doesn’t reject users based on who they are but co-opts excluded users into the design process to create universal solutions.”

While inclusivity has sometimes worked its way into product design as a byproduct of the Americans with Disabilities Act, a growing number of forward-thinking organizations understand its importance, impact and value, Patrick says.

“Consider adaptive fashion, which makes dressing easier and pain-free, and is convenient for people from all walks of life,” she said. “Organizations need not only assess whether a brand is inclusive, Patrick says, “but also investigate whether your brand is unintentionally overlooking potential consumers.”

“Our research offers a framework, we call DARE (Design, Appraisal, Response, Experience) that suggests that Design can signal social exclusion or inclusion, and consumers appraise the design (and the brand) based on this perception of exclusion or inclusion,” Patrick says. “This appraisal triggers an emotional response that in turn, shapes the consumer’s experience with the brand.”

The DARE framework maps onto three levels of inclusive design from “mere accessibility” (level 1 design) on one end to empowered success (level 3 design) on the other giving marketers a handy tool by which they can assess the inclusivity of their products and services.

Ample evidence exists to show consumers reward brands that demonstrate they are both seen and represented. A recent report shows 69 percent of Black consumers are more likely to proactively seek out a brand with advertising that positively reflects their race/ethnicity, LGBTQ consumers are more likely to proactively seek out a brand with advertising that authentically represents a variety of sexual orientations, and a large share of Latinx consumers report taking an action related to a product or service after seeing an ad campaign that is inclusive or diverse.

A key contribution of Patrick’s research is the idea that inclusive design must begin with recognizing the needs of consumers who are unseen, unheard and often invisible in the marketplace and, then begin to design products, services, platforms and experiences with these consumers in mind to ultimately benefit the entire marketplace.

“Companies should not strive for inclusion and accessibility because it is trendy, or even because it is legally required. The move toward inclusive design is a moral imperative that also makes good business sense” Patrick says.

Patrick is a consumer psychologist whose research interests lie in the areas of self-regulation and personal leadership, everyday consumer aesthetics and luxury brand strategy. Her research has been published in top-tier academic journals in psychology, marketing, and management, and popular accounts of her work have appeared in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, NPR, Los Angeles Times, BusinessWeek, Fast Company, Forbes, The Huffington Post and The Washington Post.