As you may know, BIMA works with councils made up of BIMA members to drive innovation and excellence across the digital industry. In 2022 the Inclusive Design Council wanted to recognise the importance of inclusive design in the industry by introducing a new category to the BIMA awards roster: the Inclusive Design Award.
The aim? Highlight projects that understand, implement and excel at providing digital experiences that are truly inclusive, and crown one entry as the standout winner!
The council took various elements into consideration before awarding the first Inclusive Design Award to Telescopic & Saffron Brand Consultants for The Valuable 500 website, www.thevaluable500.com. Their incredibly high standard and commitment to inclusion truly set a precedent for the award this year, and for the years to come.
Over the past few years, the conversation around accessibility and inclusive design has seemingly reached every corner of every meeting room, and it was important to acknowledge the projects that not only understood its importance, but delivered to an exceptionally high standard. There are lots of tips, approaches and guidance shared on the topic, all with good intention, but among the chaos there is a need to distinguish best practice from anecdotes with no evidence to back them up.
Establishing a dedicated awards category, the council wanted to acknowledge that inclusive design and accessibility should be baked in at the start of every project.
Creating an accessible and inclusive digital experience is no small task. There are many criteria to adhere to, as well as an understanding of how people interact with a screen, and the individual circumstances that can affect the experience temporarily, situationally or permanently. As a council, we agreed to judge the entries using day-to-day accessibility testing methods, such as automatic accessibility tools (eg WAVE, Taba11y) and manual testing to ensure WCAG 2.1 was met. Once these fundamental tests were passed, we then discussed innovation, excellence and execution to decide which entries stood above the rest.
While we’d love to report that all entries passed the initial accessibility review, unfortunately many didn’t. There were a few that missed some easy wins for making the experience more inclusive:
Elements such as this are why it’s important to continue the conversation and highlight better practice in the digital industry when it comes to inclusive design.
Looking for guidance on accessibility and inclusive design? We recommend starting here …
Following numerous discussions, the judges awarded the first Inclusive Design award to Telescopic & Saffron Brand Consultants for The Valuable 500 website. Here’s why.
“They have demonstrated that a website can meet accessibility requirements while also having a dynamic, bold and visually appealing design.”Becky Ferraro, inclusive design lead, Deloitte Digital
“They have pushed inclusive design into a space that feels fresh. It breaks away from stereotypes and is really exciting to look at and interact with.”Steph Marques, head of UX, Bernadette
“Valuable 500 have considered that their digital products are meeting the requirements and have opened a new perspective on how inclusive design and accessibility can be viewed from a brand perspective.”Eve Ofosu, senior designer, Kin + Carta
“The Valuable 500 has concreted itself as the collective to represent and support progression in diversity and inclusion. From the considerations of the website build to the delivery in key messaging and imagery, this project is a great precedent to set for the inclusive design award.”Matt Roberts, lead digital and user experience designer, Sightsavers
Without doubt, this category will be back next year in some form!
Have we got any tips on winning this category next time?
We’d love to see more submissions include clearer insight on process, research, testing, and outcome from embedding accessibility from the start.
In 2022, the introduction of this award was all about showcasing the importance of inclusive design as an integral part of a digital product. However, we also acknowledge that it should be embedded and not necessarily identified in its own category.
The council and BIMA will work together to make sure that inclusive design is recognised at the pinnacle of digital innovation in the UK.
Register your interest in joining the council