User-Centered Design

A design philosophy and process that places the needs, preferences, and limitations of end users at the center of each stage of the design process. In accessibility contexts, user-centered design means actively involving people with disabilities not just as test subjects evaluating finished products, but as contributors to requirements gathering, ideation, prototyping, and iteration. This requires accessible design methods that enable disabled participants to fully contribute. User-centered design is related to but distinct from participatory design, which more explicitly positions users as equal co-designers rather than informants whose feedback is filtered through designers' interpretations.