How Modern Design can Truly be for Everyone

Over the years, working as both a product manager and designer, I’ve noticed a recurring pattern. Inclusivity often arrives too late in the design process. Accessibility audits, compliance checks, and "retrofits" usually get layered on after launch, if they are addressed at all. By that point, critical choices about layouts, interactions, and flows have already been made. Fixing them becomes expensive and sometimes impossible without starting over.

With the rise of AI-powered design tools, we now have an opportunity to flip that script. Instead of treating inclusive design as an afterthought, we can build it into our process from the beginning.

AI is already helping in meaningful ways. Automated accessibility checks in tools like Stark or Figma plugins can analyze contrast, typography, and component structures in real time. Instead of waiting for a late-stage audit, we get feedback while we are still making design decisions. AI can also simulate how people with different abilities might interact with an interface, letting us catch friction points early. And content personalization means AI can adapt tone, reading level, or input methods to align with individual needs.

This matters because contemporary UX is shifting quickly. Minimalist UIs, voice interfaces, and generative content are shaping the products we use every day. These trends are exciting, but they also introduce risks of exclusion. A generative AI feature that produces dense text blocks might look impressive, but if it is not legible for someone with dyslexia or low vision, it fails in practice. AI can act as a design partner here, spotting risks, suggesting alternatives, and nudging us toward more accessible defaults before they become expensive mistakes.

Of course, tools alone will not solve the problem. The bigger opportunity is cultural. Imagine a workflow where AI not only suggests color palettes and layouts but also flags inclusivity concerns in the same moment. Instead of designers or PMs having to argue for accessibility, it simply becomes part of the design process.

This is the mindset we are building into RIV. We help teams design fast, inclusive, and forward-looking digital products by combining strong UX foundations with accessibility from day one. Whether that means running accessibility audits, prototyping new AI-driven workflows, or rethinking how inclusive design fits into your roadmap, our goal is to make accessibility a core advantage rather than an afterthought.

Inclusive design is not a nice-to-have. It is the foundation of good UX. AI will not replace human empathy, but it can help us scale it. For those of us who have seen accessibility treated as a checklist item, this shift feels overdue. The challenge and the opportunity is to use AI wisely and to make sure our products truly work for everyone.

I am curious how others are experiencing this. How do you see AI shaping the way we approach inclusivity in design?