Design x Regine Gilbert
Designer, Educator, and Speaker
Illustration by Bonnie Kate Wolf
Interview conducted by Anita Chen on May 29, 2020
Tell us about yourself and what you do.
I am a visiting industry assistant professor at NYU in the Integrated Digital Media program, and I teach user experience (UX) design and assistive technology. Last December, my book Inclusive Design for Digital World came out. It’s for people who are new to accessibility and are looking to learn about it. In my past life as a consultant, I worked with companies big and small on making their websites more accessible to people with disabilities.
When you did UX consulting, what was your team’s design process like?
When we met with small businesses, they wouldn’t want to spend too much money, so we’d need to really make it clear what the priorities were, first and foremost. Then we’d map out what needed to be done and by whom.
I took the strategy of doing content before any designs. If we designed first, and the client comes in later wanting to add content, we wouldn’t have accounted for it in the design. There’s a great book by Carrie Hane called Designing Connected Content, where she talks about making content first, so that’s the philosophy that we took before designing.
In my past life, I was a project manager, so I still approach things with that perspective. I used to run projects with a risk register, which would list everything that could go wrong and how we would fix it. This is something that we would do at the start of the project. It’s just super helpful to have those kinds of things laid out ahead of time. If you fail to plan, you plan to fail.
What were some of the hardest parts of doing UX?
I think the hardest part is balancing user needs and business goals. A lot of times, the UX designer is trying to advocate for the users, but that can come to battle with the business goals. Sometimes the business really wants to push something that you know would get on users’ nerves, like pop-ups. Users don’t like pop-ups, but they collect a lot of data that keeps the businesses going. Sometimes you know something wouldn’t be ideal for the user, but you still have to do it anyway.
A lot of your roles have involved leadership. Whether it be leading a team or teaching or giving talks, how would you describe your leadership style, and how do you adapt it for each role?
First and foremost, context is everything. You have to deal with people’s individual needs. It’s about remaining solution-focused, so it doesn’t get personal, and then making sure that the process is as collaborative as possible. No one does anything alone, including leaders.
“No one does anything alone, including leaders.”
I think it’s really important to elevate others in the process of leading and to have people play to their strong suits and pursue what really empowers them.
Let’s talk about accessibility and inclusive design. What would you say are some misconceptions that people have about accessibility and inclusive design?
People sometimes make things and think it won’t be pretty if it’s made accessible. However, I feel there is an opportunity to make things beautiful and simple. There’s a lot of misconceptions in terms of what it takes, and I think people just need to do a little more investigation, so that they’re able to discover what will work for them and the users.
There are also folks like Liz Jackson who are working on getting more people with disabilities involved in the design process, rather than just testing designs on them. “Looking Forward,” the assistive technology class that I taught last semester, was co-created and co-taught by Gus Chalkias, who is blind. He brought the perspective of being blind and knowing how to use assistive technology from his daily life, while I brought the perspective of UX design. Together we had a really wonderful class. When you can work with people with disabilities and create things, that’s amazing.
Why should designers care about inclusivity and accessibility?
Designers should care because, frankly, it’s not “us” vs. “them.” Every single person is temporarily able-bodied. In the introduction to my book, I ask the question, “Have you ever wanted to get into a place that didn’t allow you in? How did that make you feel?” To be left out, to be excluded, is not a good feeling. Designing with inclusivity in mind is really about making sure that everyone has some sort of option.
“Designing with inclusivity in mind is really about making sure that everyone has some sort of option.”
Gus says, “Accessibility is options,” and I agree with that.
I recently got an Oculus Quest VR headset, and there’s a game that requires full dexterity of both hands. When I was playing, I kept thinking, “If I didn’t have full functionality of my hands, I could not play this game.” There were no other options, like pressing a button or doing a gesture with my head, that could otherwise facilitate playing the game. I don’t consider it extra to give options for everybody to have a chance to experience what you want them to.
You talk about being WOQE (pronounced “woke”) in your talks and classes. What does that mean, and how can designers use that framework to design more inclusively?
I didn’t come up with WOQE, but I talk about it any chance I could get. To stay WOQE is to watch, observe, question, and explore. To watch is to be awake. A lot of people are not really awake to what’s going on, but being awake is the first step. To observe is to look around, like checking out your surroundings. To question is to question everything you’ve observed. To explore is to try new things.
This isn’t just for the outside world—it pertains to yourself too. The best designers know themselves very well. When you know yourself, you understand your own biases and what fuels you. One question I like to ask students is, “Who do you think about the most?” Most of us think about ourselves because we have to survive, so it can make designing for other people difficult. It takes practice to stay WOQE.
As a big fan of root cause analysis and the 5 whys, I like to question why I’m reacting. When you understand where you’re coming from, you’ll know that someone else with the same experience may have their own reactions and root causes. Once you understand yourself, you can understand others better too.
“Once you understand yourself, you can understand others better too.”
What is the best work of accessible design that you’ve ever encountered?
When school went remote because of the pandemic, I was really concerned that Zoom wouldn’t be sufficient for Gus, but he actually found Zoom to be pretty accessible! With a screen reader, he was able to know who was attending and who was speaking, so it was really nice.
Zoom has been accessible in other ways too. For Global Accessibility Awareness Day, I was on a panel with people from Tokyo, Denmark, and Texas while I’m in New York, and people were viewing it from all over the world.
What advice would you give to junior designers and aspiring designers?
Keep doing the work, and the work will come to you. The only way you can get better at something is to do it. People might say, “Well, I don’t know what to work on,” but there are options. For designers, you can think of experiences you’ve had trouble with and ways you can make that better. My friend Joe Formica has a group called Bitesize UX, where he has meetups for junior designers to spend two hours on design challenges. Doing these kinds of things and keeping yourself engaged with the design community can really help you build your confidence.
“Keep doing the work, and the work will come to you.”
A lot of folks lack confidence when they’re new to something. I’m not saying you need to be overconfident, but you do need to be confident in the work that you can do, and the only way you’re going to feel good about getting better is by doing more of it.
Rapid Fire Questions:
What is your favorite thing to do in your free time?
I love dancing. The VR game I was playing was a dance game, where you follow an avatar’s moves. Dancing is for me so free, I could do it with people or I could do it alone.
What are your favorite books?
Where the Sidewalk Ends, because I love Shel Silverstein’s poems. Recently, Make it Now, by Anthony Burrill. He's famous for this poster that says “Work hard and be nice.” I love this book because it's about his creative process and how he learned graphic design, and it’s really inspiring.
Do you have any favorite podcasts?
I like Revision Path, which showcases Black designers, developers, and creatives from all over the world. BBC’s The Missing Cryptoqueen, which is the mystery of a woman who started a cryptocurrency called OneCoin, is fantastic. I also like Finding Fred because I am obsessed with Mr. Rogers.
(These are very diverse books and podcasts!)
I get into so many different things. I have a curiosity and I hope that I don’t ever lose it. That’s when I think I’ll feel old!
Who or what inspires you?
Honestly, waking up in the morning inspires me. Simply being alive is inspirational because there’s so many opportunities throughout the day to meet new people, see new things, create opportunities to innovate—I don’t know what the day will hold. Just doing something as simple as going through my books today, I found a great quote that said, “My rate is not dependent on what you can afford.” In the natural currents of how you live your life, you can encounter so many things, and that’s inspiring.
Last question: what do you think is underrated?
Getting to know oneself. I think it’s really important to get to know yourself, understand yourself, and take care for yourself. When you take care of yourself, everything falls into place. Not in a selfish way, but more of a self-love way. I don’t think enough people take the time to do it because we’re so busy.
