Inclusive Service Design and Accessibility

People with disabilities aren't a subset of all people - they're all people at different times in their lives. A new parent using a system one-handed while holding a baby, someone trying to access audio content without headphones in a public space, or a person with light sensitivity navigating bright interfaces are all experiencing temporary or situational disabilities that good design should anticipate.

Universal design goes far beyond mobility, vision, and hearing considerations. It includes invisible disabilities like dyslexia, ADHD, brain fog that makes reading long texts difficult, light sensitivity, and countless others. An exhaustive list is impossible - which is why designing for flexibility and user control is essential.

True inclusive design considers the full spectrum of barriers people face: literacy levels, digital access, banking and credit system access, time availability, and administrative burden. Language access is particularly complex - many people can speak English but never learned to read it, especially those who first learned different writing systems. Often, trusted intermediaries like family members help navigate government services, which creates additional design considerations.

My work includes expanding Vote.gov from 2 to 20 languages, contributing to NIST Special Publication 1273 on voting accessibility, and ensuring universal access principles are embedded in all my projects. The goal isn't compliance - it's designing services that work for everyone from the start.