A Card Game That Puts Empathy First
Cards for Humanity, a Figma plugin from design consultancy Idean (now part of frog), turns inclusive design into a hands-on workshop exercise. The tool uses a card-based mechanic to help teams think about the needs of people with disabilities and diverse traits, making conversations about accessibility concrete rather than abstract.
The project was a team effort. Product Designer Eva Tkautz, Lead Developer Sidd Vadgama, Lead Product Manager Charlie Wileman, and Marketing Manager Imogen Lees all contributed to the game's design and development.
How the Game Works
The deck has two card types. One set represents a person, showing a name, age, and personality trait. The second set lists a corresponding need, disability, or personal challenge. Players deal a pair of cards to form a character and then discuss how to design for that person's specific circumstances. Clicking a card surfaces written guidance about the trait or disability in question.
That built-in reference material is key. It prevents players from relying on potentially wrong assumptions about various conditions. Because the game is open-ended, it adapts well to different formats: workshops, brainstorms, or informal team discussions about accessibility.
The format also solves a common problem in client-facing design work. "We found that it was really difficult to raise inclusive design in a way that was tangible to our clients," explains Charlie. The cards give teams a way to move from abstract principles to a concrete design challenge, and the exercise starts with empathy rather than technical requirements.
Building an Inclusive Tool Inclusively
The design process for Cards for Humanity was itself an exercise in inclusivity. The team started with internal research, checking whether colleagues were comfortable sharing their own traits and conditions. From there, they broadened their reach by soliciting input from an online product community to expand the list of attributes represented in the deck.
Maintaining that standard over time has been an ongoing effort. "Making it as accessible as possible has been the most uphill challenge," says Sidd. "An inclusivity and accessibility tool needs to itself be inclusive and accessible. We've done our best to listen to feedback and iterate on top of it."
Feedback came from an audience wider than the team initially expected. They assumed the game would primarily appeal to designers and developers, but they were surprised to find interest from lawyers, gamers, clinicians, and educators. "When designing inclusive products, your audience might not be the audience you're expecting," says Eva. That diversity highlighted the need for clear, jargon-free language in the card descriptions.
Time, Billable Work, and Passion Projects
Building an internal tool like Cards for Humanity requires navigating a standard agency tension. Client work is billable; internal projects aren't. Even in a company that names inclusion as a stated goal, making space for non-billable development takes effort.
The team sees design quality and business outcomes as aligned on this point. "Designing products and services that benefit everyone can only be, or should be, a business imperative, because those products and services can only impact and benefit more people," Imogen says. In other words, accessible design isn't separate from making clients happy—it's part of it.
On a day-to-day level, the balance comes down to personal commitment. "There's been a blend of actually having time for it and people just doing it in their own time, which goes back to the team's passion for creating tools like this," says Charlie. The payoff has extended beyond the standalone plugin. The team sees the tool influencing their client work too. "If every client we work with uses this tool, the impact that could have among all the people they're designing products for is absolutely massive," Charlie adds.
The Bigger Picture
For Eva, the significance of the game goes beyond the business case for accessibility. "Inclusive design is more than just a business case, a missed opportunity, or the right thing to do," she says. "Inclusive design is about inclusion in society. It's about thinking about the products that we generally design and their use. We as makers, designers, and developers have a responsibility, and we're hoping that Cards for Humanity will highlight what's important."
At its core, the plugin is designed to be a conversation starter. "Cards for Humanity doesn't have to be used in a really specific way," says Eva. "Just talking through the cards becomes a really great opener for inclusive design." That flexibility makes the tool useful in settings that aren't officially about accessibility, allowing teams to weave inclusive thinking into their everyday design practices.
