Designing for All with Generative AI
Embedding product inclusion & equity into design collaboration using AI
The power of generative AI opens a lot of doors for Designers to avoid excluding certain users in their design process. I’m really excited to share more about this topic through a series of tactical posts about scaling through AI-powered design ops. As product creators, we can leverage AI tools to expand our capabilities–as auditors of AI-powered product inclusion design.
When I talk about these methods, I am reminded of the famous quote about equity and inclusion from Joe Gerstandt:
If you do not intentionally, deliberately, and proactively include, you will unintentionally exclude. — Joe Gerstandt
With the power of generative AI and the speed at which these models are adapting and learning from human inputs, I feel that product creators have the possibility of expanding their capabilities so they truly are designing for all.
In this article, I talk about:
Introducing AI as a Design Partner — and what that means for product creators
What happens when we don’t design for marginalized groups
An intro to inclusive & equitable prompting structure
Introducing AI as a Design Partner
I started this newsletter because I have been sharing a lot about this topic through conferences—most recently at DesignOps and UX Nordic — workshops and discussions with other designers.
What is AI as a Design Partner?
As the title suggests, this newsletter is about the intersection of GenAI and product inclusion and equity as a method of designing for all.
Who is this newsletter for?
Product creators — designers, product managers, UX writers, or anyone involved in the digital product creation process. Anyone interested in exploring designing for product inclusion and equity, using AI as a coach and tool.
Manual product creation has some gaps
Generative AI (GenAI) systems are trained on a massive dataset of text and code, which allows it to learn the patterns of human language and how to generate new content that is both coherent and meaningful to humans.
As Designers, we have the opportunity to systematize our product collaboration processes by leveraging AI to systematically design for everyone.
Balancing priorities:
The Designer, writer, researcher is balancing many competing interests and priorities. As a result, some features or users might fall through the cracks—even with the most comprehensive documentation or accessibility guidelines.
What is product inclusion & equity?
Product inclusion and equity is the ongoing work of building belonging through our products, by designing for the most marginalized voices at every phase of product creation.
What is the difference between product inclusion and accessibility?
Product inclusion is a broader concept that encompasses accessibility, but it also goes beyond that to consider the needs of all users, regardless of their abilities, demographics, or circumstances. Accessibility, on the other hand, is about the guidelines and tools used as a measurement process to meet certain standards. * I will talk about accessibility AI in a future post.
How can we do this?
With new tools such as Bard or ChatGPT, UX designers have the ability to expand upon their collaborative product design capabilities to be more systematic.
What happens when we don’t design for marginalized groups
When we don’t systematically design for all users, we unintentionally exclude. Without a process, such as leveraging AI tools, product creators will have to manually design for every person—which can unintentionally leave out certain groups of people.
For example, car crash tests used to have body dummies modeled after the “average male body”. This resulted in 47% higher chance of fatal car crashes for women or men with different bodies.
Below is a list of headlines we’ve seen in the past when we haven’t designed for everyone:
Why Women Are Likelier to Be Hurt in a Car Crash – Bloomberg
Silicon Valley is bad at making products that suit women. That is a missed opportunity – The Economist
Twitter’s audio tweets revealed an accessibility miss, and now the company wants to fix it – The Verge
Thermostats, Locks and Lights: Digital Tools of Domestic Abuse – NYT
An intro to inclusive & equitable prompting structure
There are several different methods of using AI for more equitable design. Today, we’re going to talk about prompting structure and user journey creation.
A good prompt structure for product inclusion & equity AI ops:
Tasks / steps
Describe in detail as a step-by-step guide mapping out the experiencePersona
Who is the model pretending to be? In this case, prompt with the signifiers (more on this later)Provide examples
Give the model an example of what you’re looking for - formatting, writing style etc.Constraints
Prime the model to understand the constraints and details of what you’re askingChain of prompts
Refine the original ask and probe for more detail or more creative ideas. Called ‘chain of prompts’
User journey creation with AI - a primer
You may be familiar with user journeys (aka user stories, critical user journeys, jobs to be done). There is lots of disagreement on the best way to write a user journey, for this exercise we’ll follow this structure:
As a [user type] I want to [goal] so I can [task]I tend to get very in the details with my user journey writing, which is why I was so thrilled to figure out this creation method.
If you’re documenting a user journey list, it can be tedious:
As a low vision user, I am able to complete device set-up in under 30 seconds
As a tech savvy user…
As a child user…
As a Spanish speaking users…
…repeat with your full user journey list. If you are doing this as a manual process, this list can get quite long!
Documentation, ideation & synthesis
Documenting user flows - such as critical user journeys (CUJs): leads to more systematic design
Collaborative product design methods (Design Sprints or workshops): Leads to scaling your process
Synthesis, organization and prioritization: Leads to more speed & execution
Step 1: Prompting using temporary disabilities
Let’s try a user journey prompting structure with temporary disabilities as the signifier:
Prompt: Write 10 different temporary disabilities (with 1 word answers)
Step 2: Provide examples & constraints
Prompt: Using this hypothetical product: Pawpaw is a dog walking mobile app and is a two-sided marketplace that connects dog owners with professional dog walkers. The app provides a convenient and efficient way for busy dog owners to ensure their furry friends get the exercise and attention they need, even when their owners are unable to provide it themselves.Better prompt: Using this hypothetical product: Pawpaw is a dog walking mobile app that connects dog owners with professional dog walkers. It is a two-sided marketplace, meaning that it benefits both dog owners and dog walkers.
For dog owners, Pawpaw is a convenient and efficient way to find and book dog walkers. They can create a profile for their dog, including their breed, size, and temperament. They can also specify their needs, such as how long they need the dog walker to walk their dog and whether they have any special requests. Pawpaw will then show them a list of available dog walkers in their area. Dog owners can read reviews of dog walkers and compare their prices before booking.
For dog walkers, Pawpaw is a great way to find new clients. They can create a profile that includes their experience, availability, and rates. They can also specify the types of dogs they are comfortable walking. When a dog owner books a dog walker through Pawpaw, the dog walker receives a notification. They can accept or decline the booking request.
Pawpaw also offers a number of features that make it a great choice for both dog owners and dog walkers. These features include:
GPS tracking: Dog owners can track their dog's walk in real time using the GPS tracking feature.
Live updates: Dog owners receive live updates about their dog's walk, including photos and videos.
Secure payments: Payments are processed securely through the app.
Insurance: Both dog owners and dog walkers are covered by insurance.
Pawpaw is a convenient, efficient, and affordable way to find and book dog walking services. It is a great option for both busy dog owners and professional dog walkers.Step 3: Request a list of user journeys with framing through signifiers
Prompt: Using the above product for reference, rewrite this critical user journey (CUJs) and write additional CUJs for each temporary disability. "As a [insert signifier here] dog owner, I want to use the Pawpaw app to find people near me to walk my dog while I’m at work so I use the Pawpaw app to search for available dog walkers nearby.” Replace [insert signifier here] with the following temporary disabilities: [insert previous list here
Putting it all together
Next, you can take this list and summarize, expand or use it as a prompt for designing. Keep exploring different ways to prime the models to generate more creative tasks and user stories.
Please feel free to leave a comment and let me know your feedback.