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Article

This article is part of a new series in which our Accessibility, Anti-Discrimination, Localization, and Trust teams will share how we define inclusive design practices at Airbnb, our ongoing work to design solutions for global communities, and lessons we’re learning along the way.

“We as designers disable people when we don’t get it right.”

– Jamie Knight

I spent my childhood in other people’s homes. My father, a physical therapist, made weekly visits to patients and brought me along to give my hardworking mother some peace. I’d draw quietly or fetch equipment while my dad facilitated exercises with an eclectic community of people who hold space in my memory like monuments of varying shape. All of this provided a perspective for the world around me—it ingrained in me that bodies in transition are natural, valid, and diverse.

Sara Hendren succinctly said, “The natural state of a body is a patchwork.” As a Design Lead specializing in inclusive design, this is what I respond to. There’s no ideal or average person— there’s a rich arrangement of human qualities and ways people adapt to or interact with the experiences designers create.

At Airbnb, we define inclusive design as consciously designing products, services, and environments that don’t create barriers to belonging. Newcomers on the Design team are introduced to inclusive design thinking during their onboarding and, in that session, we discuss design’s role in building inclusive experiences.