Foundations of Inclusive Design

This unit introduces core principles of inclusive, equitable, and human-centered design for the Adobe Graphic Design pathway, focusing on diversity, empathy, vulnerability, and systemic thinking. Students will learn to identify needs and barriers, assess impact, and prepare to apply inclusive strategies and tools in subsequent, more technical units.

Learning Objectives

• Analyze how diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) principles influence design decisions by critiquing case studies and identifying potential impacts on diverse user groups
• Apply inclusive-design frameworks and systemic thinking to real-world scenarios by creating empathy maps, needs-assessment notes, and user-challenge inventories
• Demonstrate strategies to recognize and mitigate personal and systemic bias in design processes through reflective audits and revised design intentions
• Evaluate essential tools and methods (interviews, accessibility checklists, empathy exercises) and justify their selection for assessing needs and challenges in a design brief