Designing for Accessibility
An exploratory UX project translating theoretical accessibility principles into tested, actionable features for Ford’s Features team. I guided the ideation process, designed an immersive testing setup, developed and prioritized 11 ideas down to 3 feasible concepts. Our research findings were translated into an Accessibility Design Guidelines for the Features Team. NDA - The following references are non-revealing, consented, public information or pertain to completed and discontinued projects.
Year
2023
Client
Ford Motor Company
Scope
Qualitative Research, Rapid Prototyping, Usability Test Setup, Design Leadership
Impact
3 concepts validated, 1 design manual shipped to Features Team, and methodology presented to 500+ employees across regional forums
Role
Product Designer & Acting Design Lead
Personal Contributions
UX/UI, User Testing, UX Research, Communication Design, Project Leadership
The Challenge
"Designing for Accessibility" was an exploratory project aimed at bringing theoretical accessibility research into feasible, actionable outcomes grounded in the real-world routines of users with physical and cognitive disabilities for the Ford Features team.
The Solution
Following the Design Thinking methodology, the project delivered a comprehensive set of research findings, an accessible design guidelines manual, and three concepts co-created and tested with users with cognitive or physical disabilities inside an immersive testing environment.
3 Big Takeaways
User-Centered Primary Insights: Remote interviews with people with disabilities provided actionable personal experiences regarding autonomy and sensory triggers that directly guided the ideation phase.
Streamlined Concept Prioritization: Using 11 visual concept cards, the team worked with leadership to select three concepts that enhanced existing features for faster, feasible implementation while utilizing modified screen templates to save prototyping time.
Immersive Hardware & Interface Testing Environment: The team adapted a physical car interior model ("buck") and built a immersive dark-room driving simulation to capture user reactions and validate accessibility concepts.
Key Research Insights
The Importance of Autonomy: Interviews highlighted that users with physical disabilities feel frustrated when routine tasks require outside help, emphasizing the need for feature designs that restore independence and solve simple tasks without relying on others.
Sensory Sensitivity Variations: Insights from neurodivergent participants (such as users with autism) revealed that environmental triggers vary significantly—for instance, high light levels can cause discomfort, while very low or specific sounds can be even more disruptive.
Operational Alignment: The team researched the Ford Features team's workflow to ensure research findings and future concepts matched their capabilities and needs.
Trade-offs & Feature Prioritization
Feasibility Focus: Leadership prioritized three concepts that enhanced existing features over completely new builds to ensure faster, feasible implementation.
UI Template Reuse: To save time during prototyping, the team modified central stack screen templates and interactions rather than building new interfaces from scratch.
Asynchronous Workflow: While stepping in as acting Design Lead, meetings were reduced to give team members dedicated focus time for the presentation deck, relying on chat for quick issue resolution.
Iterative Ergonomics & Prototyping Testing
Physical "Buck" Adaptation: The car interior model was adapted in partnership with a specialized modeling team to meet safety, accessibility, and confidentiality requirements.
Audiovisual Test Environment: A darkened room was configured with Nanlite streetlamp illumination, a video loop of a rainy road, car/rain ambient audio, and lapel microphones.
Interaction Capture: Two cameras recorded the usability sessions—one focused on the central stack tablet interface and the other on facial expressions.
Results & Deliverables
Project Handover: Delivered research findings, a guidelines manual for accessible design, and tested concepts to the Features team for ongoing development.
Stakeholder Impact: Recordings from the immersive setup provided clear evidence of the concepts' value to leadership.
Knowledge Sharing: Outcomes were presented to the London team, the Features team, a Brazilian general knowledge meeting (400–500 attendees), and a South American forum on physical and mental disabilities.
Collaborative Team Role Summary
Product Designer & Acting Design Lead: Designed screen UI (Figma) and interactions (ProtoPie), while leading the team for two weeks during the lead's vacation to manage deliverables and presentations.
Workshop Facilitation & Delegation: Organized brainstorming sessions, mapped concept matrices, and delegated tasks while maintaining high-level oversight.
Testing Setup & Leadership Growth: Introduced the audiovisual testing environment and applied team feedback to actively highlight and celebrate colleagues' contributions.
Designing for Accessibility
An exploratory UX project translating theoretical accessibility principles into tested, actionable features for Ford’s Features team. I guided the ideation process, designed an immersive testing setup, developed and prioritized 11 ideas down to 3 feasible concepts. Our research findings were translated into an Accessibility Design Guidelines for the Features Team. NDA - The following references are non-revealing, consented, public information or pertain to completed and discontinued projects.
The Challenge
"Designing for Accessibility" was an exploratory project aimed at bringing theoretical accessibility research into feasible, actionable outcomes grounded in the real-world routines of users with physical and cognitive disabilities for the Ford Features team.
The Solution
Following the Design Thinking methodology, the project delivered a comprehensive set of research findings, an accessible design guidelines manual, and three concepts co-created and tested with users with cognitive or physical disabilities inside an immersive testing environment.
3 Big Takeaways
User-Centered Primary Insights: Remote interviews with people with disabilities provided actionable personal experiences regarding autonomy and sensory triggers that directly guided the ideation phase.
Streamlined Concept Prioritization: Using 11 visual concept cards, the team worked with leadership to select three concepts that enhanced existing features for faster, feasible implementation while utilizing modified screen templates to save prototyping time.
Immersive Hardware & Interface Testing Environment: The team adapted a physical car interior model ("buck") and built a immersive dark-room driving simulation to capture user reactions and validate accessibility concepts.
Year
2023
Client
Ford Motor Company
Duration
UX/UI, User Testing, UX Research, Communication Design, Project Leadership
Role
Product Designer & Acting Design Lead
Scope
Qualitative Research, Rapid Prototyping, Usability Test Setup, Design Leadership
Impact
3 concepts validated, 1 design manual shipped to Features Team, and methodology presented to 500+ employees across regional forums