Designing Data Transparency for All Lens

Data transparency is about so much more than Terms & Conditions.

But they’re a good place to start.

This is typically what they look like.

The language is complicated.

There’s a lot of it.

These documents require college-level comprehension skills, but, in the USA, only 48%^* of people can read at this level.

^*Source: U.S. Department of Education

We say we want data transparency, yet we design for inaccessibility from the start.

How might we think about this differently?

Could T&Cs be educational?

Could they explain — perhaps even justify — how and why a company is using data?

Could visual design and graphic elements make things easier to read?

Could we design with different audiences in mind?

Could we simply write for clarity and comprehension?

^*Text credit: Amnesty International

Thoughtful T&C design is one little step towards creating data transparency that truly makes sense to everybody.

Terms & Conditions are one place within the user experience where we should think of transparency as a feature, not a hindrance–but there are many other product moments where the same insights can apply.