Introduction
During one of my visits to a local museum not long ago, I was with a friend who is blind. I was used to helping him read the informational plaques aloud, but that visit was a painful reminder that the gap between what we consider a 'good experience' and what the actual user lives may be very wide.
The observations were simple but revealing.
Audio descriptions — when available — usually focus on function: 'this is a farming tool', 'this is a metal rod'. But no one mentions the shape, size, texture, or even whether the object is large or small enough to lift.
This raised a pivotal question:
When did we start to think that every user sees everything?
A gap that is not just about museums... but encompasses the entire digital world.
When the user cannot see the screen, words become their eyes.
The same disaster occurs when a designer writes alternative text (Alt Text) like:
'Person — chair — cup'.
This is not a description... this is a list of items.
Notice the difference:
'A woman with long black hair sitting on a wooden chair holding a blue cup.'
The mental image here is formed more clearly.
And perhaps this is the crux: inclusive design is not empathy... it is precision.
Inclusive design starts with one question
What about users who cannot see what I see?
When a product guide says:
'Assemble the piece as shown in images 1 and 2'
it assumes that everyone can see.
But a phrase like:
'Flip the board, and secure four small screws in the four corners as shown in image 2'
opens the door to a more independent experience — even without images.
The difference between the two sentences is the difference between a brand that people trust... and a brand that users exclude.
Assistive tools... but they are not the complete solution.
There are powerful applications that assist the visually impaired, such as Seeing AI from Microsoft.
Its accuracy has improved, but it remains just an assistant, and is not a substitute for designers' commitment to creating clear, accessible information without intermediaries.
Tools alone do not address the biases embedded in the experience itself.
Free will is not a luxury — it is the foundation of the human experience.
When someone says:
"Why doesn't the blind person use a companion in the museum?"
This is akin to saying:
"Why go by yourself? Always take someone with you."
The problem is not in the assistance... but in the assumption of permanent disability.
Daily independence — choosing when to go, what to see, when to leave — is what transforms the experience from "survival" to "life."
Inclusive design means thinking about the excluded... not the majority.
In one of the sessions, a deaf participant asked:
"I don't use sign language. How am I supposed to receive the information?"
There was a sign language interpreter, but there was no direct text translation.
And here the major misunderstanding arose:
Disability is not a one-size-fits-all.
There is a "spectrum" of hearing, vision, and movement experiences, and it cannot be assumed that everyone uses the same tools.
So the answer was simple:
Having a permanent text option is the most inclusive solution.
Text succeeds where others fail.
Also read the article:The Revolution of Artificial Intelligence in UX/UI Design
Real-world examples
One of the organisers asked me:
"We installed tactile paving at the entrance, but it might obstruct wheelchairs and buggies. What should we do?"
The answer was:
Before thinking about the minor inconvenience...
Think about who will be excluded if you are not there.
Carts pass over it easily.
As for the blind... they won't find the entrance at all.
Compliance with laws... is not inclusive design.
Many establishments only place the protruding tiles for the minimum legally required:
In front of a door, next to a staircase, near the bathroom.
But the wide spaces that represent the real experience — an exhibition, a hall, a long path — without any signs.
This is not inclusivity...
This is legal beautification.
True inclusive design relies on:
Analysis, experience, iteration, and listening to people with disabilities themselves.
No government protocol will make the experience human on its own.
Beyond regulations: we want real human experiences.
In a meeting with one of the prestigious museums, the marketing director said:
"We comply with accessibility laws... but the law is the minimum. The question that occupies us is: what can we do beyond the law?"
This is the essence of inclusive design.
Not what the law requires... but what people need.
In summary
Inclusive design is not a set of rules, nor a set of 'musts' that we put in a PDF.
It is a vision that always asks:
Who can be excluded?
And then works to remove that exclusion — no matter how simple — through language, experience, and technology.
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