Gina Bhawalkar

There’s a new buzz phrase in the air — “open source design.” What is it? It’s a “remix” (to borrow a term from Figma) of the open source software movement’s commitment to sharing and collaborative validation and improvement of software source code. What Are Examples Of Open Source Design? You don’t need to look far to find companies embracing this idea by: Making design systems public. Most design teams are […]

When I speak with companies that are new to digital accessibility, they almost always start the conversation with some version of this question: “What do we need to do to comply with accessibility standards so we don’t get sued?” They’re right to ask, because web accessibility lawsuits are proliferating — there were over 2,000 in […]

Discover what federal agency websites excel at and where are the biggest areas of opportunity.

Fifty percent — that’s the percentage of design professionals who say their company now uses a design system according to Forrester’s Q3 2019 Global State Of Design Teams Survey. And a whopping 74% of those survey respondents say that their companies are using a design system more than two years ago. Over a third even […]

Only a tiny fraction of websites get accessibility right. Learn how to ensure your online experience doesn't freeze out would-be shoppers.

When you hear “Domino’s” and “supreme” in the same sentence, you could be forgiven for thinking we’re talking about the “Supreme” on its menu — a pizza loaded with pepperoni, bacon, beef, sausage, mushroom, pineapple, and onion. But no, I’m talking about a bad business decision — which any company with a website or app […]

Having a design system is now table stakes for companies that want to scale design; drive a consistent, seamless customer experience; manage design debt and technical debt; and free up designer time to solve new challenges — not reinvent the wheel. But can a design system also ensure that the experiences you create are inclusive? […]

When we design for the “average” person, we design for no one. One of my favorite books, The End of Average, opens with the story of how, during World War II, the US Air Force faced a high death rate — pilots were unable to control their planes, which led to crashes, often fatal. The […]

A recent study on design maturity from InVision revealed something really interesting: that design team size is not predictive of a design team’s maturity. That is, it’s possible to dedicate a lot of headcount to design but still see limited benefits on business outcomes. Not only did they find there’s not a correlation, but they […]

Design leaders often ask me: “How do I make the case to grow my team?” “How do I prove the impact that better design has on my organization?” “How do I elevate the impact of design?” The answers to all three questions come down to having a repeatable process in place for linking design investments […]

Yesterday, my LinkedIn feed lit up with posts from individuals and companies stating their commitment to digital inclusion. Why? Because it was Global Accessibility Awareness Day (GAAD), a day aimed at getting everyone talking and learning about digital accessibility and inclusive design. Why do we need a day dedicated to this? Because many companies are […]

Mobile apps have become the touchpoint of choice for millions of people to manage their finances, and Forrester regularly reviews those of leading banks. We just published our latest evaluations of the apps of the big five Canadian banks: BMO, CIBC, RBC, Scotiabank, and TD Canada Trust. Overall, they’ve raised the bar, striking a good […]

When I talk to design leaders these days, the No. 1 question on their minds is how to scale to meet the demand for design and research. It’s a good problem to have — executives have moved from asking “Do we need design?” to “How do we get more design and research?” Successful design organizations […]

Inclusive design is good for business. I lay out the reasons why in my latest report, “The Inclusive Design Imperative: Win And Retain More Customers,” and explain how you can establish the foundation for it to take hold. Once you raise awareness of inclusive design and spark the desire in employees to do better, it’s […]

Does your company have a diversity and inclusion (D&I) program? There’s a good chance you do — D&I is currently having its moment in the spotlight. But the D&I conversation at many organizations neglects a crucial element: a process for how the company will actually fulfill its commitment to D&I in the experiences it designs […]

Accessible digital design is more possible and more relevant than ever. Find out how it can widen your customer base while making life easier for people with disabilities.

It’s a great time to be an experience design professional — what we call an XD pro. I remember my early years as a user experience practitioner: 25% of my time was spent practicing my craft (the exciting part!) and 75% evangelizing my discipline and explaining why a human-centered design approach benefits both customers and […]

There’s a vast population that many companies can’t reach because they design experiences without accessibility in mind — it’s large and growing by the minute. And these potential customers have money to spend: Over 1 billion people worldwide have a disability, and they have over $1.2 trillion in annual disposable income. That number balloons to […]