Inclusive design: Bridging theory and practice

This contribution addresses the persistent gap between inclusive design as an aspiration and its implementation in everyday design work. It examines how theory, methods and organisational practice can be connected so that diverse users are considered throughout development. Its EDI significance lies in treating inclusion as a process capability: teams need appropriate representations of diversity, opportunities for user involvement and decision points where exclusion can be recognised and corrected. This matters because broad commitments to inclusion often disappear under time, budget and workflow pressures. The chapter helps make EDI actionable by focusing on method integration and professional practice rather than presenting inclusion as a specialist add-on. It is useful for organisations seeking to embed inclusive criteria into briefs, evaluation and iterative development.