At the end of the day, you can’t fully predict what kind of disability or vulnerability your users might experience. Hence, it’s essential to test and prototype your service or product together with real people who have disabilities or experience digital vulnerability.

It happens far too often that product teams focus on technical details while the users are struggling with something very basic, such as turning the voice over aspirant on, or entering the right settings. To curb this, automated testing isn't enough; community engagement is critical.


In her keynote, Danish researcher Olivia Dahl, who has Cerebral Palsy, stressed the importance of connecting with people to truly understand their needs, and to work collaboratively. Only by seeing people with disabilities or vulnerabilities first and foremost as people and not problems that need to be fixed, can we create real inclusion.

1. Step out of the office and into reality

At first, this might sound counterintuitive for a designer. But, considering that there is a large group of users that have some form of visual impairment, finding other ways of designing other than focusing on visual elements, is crucial. For example, when designing VR (Virtual Reality) and AR (Augmented Reality) experiences, you can use features such as haptics, to enhance or improve the experience, to not only rely on visuals. In short, we often lean way too much on the visual experience, which is what should come last.

Again, there is still a lot left to do when it comes to the basics. In 2024, there are still many websites that fail to meet WCAG standards. There is still a lack of basic things such as adequate html structure of headings and content and alt texts for images. This needs to be in place and agreed upon by both designers and developers agree about this.

2. Move away from the visual experience

AI (Artificial Intelligence) per definition favours the idea of the normative. Hence, everything that differs will be marked as the odd one out, favouring the majority. To help curb this, it’s crucial that WCAG and related legislation starts considering and including developing technology – not only traditional websites and apps. 

Moreover, when it comes to VR and AR, we need to also test the physical devices and spaces to ensure that they are developed to not only work for normative users. When it comes to neurodivergence, 15-20% of the population has some form of neurodivergence (such as, for example, as autism). Still this is too often ignored in digital solutions.


3. Watch out for AI and tech biases

Division for Inclusive Social Development, United Nations,

 highlighted how universal design is crucial to reach the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). If we manage to embed the universal design principles in policy making, we have a highly effective approach to reduce inequalities, promoting social inclusion and ensuring accessibility. However, at the moment, we are far from reaching the goals, and speeding up progress is urgent.

4. The 2030 agenda for sustainable development

Valerie Fletcher, Executive Director of the Institute for Human Centered Design, points out how the World Health Organisation's contextual definition of disability is a gift for designers, and says it highlights why our work is so important. Designers are primary in creating the human context, which means we have enormous power to change it. Here, co-design is key, and she points out how the term “expert” is more correct than “user” because lived experience is crucial to getting it right. 

Key takeaways from UD2024