Description
The chapter Active Inclusive Design: Strengthening Designers’ Capacities for Inclusion (pp. 32-36) introduces the importance of strengthening designers’ ability to create inclusive products and services. It positions inclusive design as a key driver. Designers act as agents of social transformation. The project behind the article (Active Inclusive Design) brings together nine Dutch design agencies, researchers, and educators to form a collaborative learning ecosystem. Its central question is how to improve the capacity of designers to apply inclusive design in their everyday practice, focusing on mindset development, collaboration with diverse users, client engagement, and integration into education.
The project uses Participatory Action Research combined with a learning community model to study the elements of capacity. Designers, researchers, and educators work in “action teams” to test tools, share experiences, and reflect on their practice. Rather than treating inclusion as a checklist, AID frames it as a capability that develops through doing, reflecting, and collaborating. A major insight is that inclusive design requires not just knowledge but a shift in attitude and behavior, engaging the “head, hands, heart, and voice.” Designers are encouraged to expand their perspective from self-awareness (“I”), to empathy for others (“you”), to teamwork (“we”), and finally to understanding broader systems.
Several practical interventions were developed within the project. These include sharing learning stories about using inclusive design tools, creating team reflection formats such as board games, developing card sets to better understand user diversity, and improving collaboration with people who have lived experiences. The project also addresses relationships with clients by introducing tools like an inclusive design maturity model to guide conversations. Additionally, AID explores how education can embed inclusive thinking early on, proposing a framework that integrates reflection and inclusion across different levels of learning and practice.
The chapter concludes that inclusive design is fundamental. Designers must not only focus on outcomes but also on how they work and who they work with. The project highlights that tools alone are insufficient without the right mindset, that collaboration requires equal dialogue and trust, and that systemic barriers, such as client expectations, must be addressed. Through its collaborative structure, AID contributes not only practical tools and educational materials but also long-term capacity-building, helping designers continuously learn, reflect, and adapt toward more inclusive practices.
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