Accessibility, A Mindset for Life

Designing Inclusivity, On and Offline

“The details are not the details. They make the design.” — Charles Eames, Eames: Beautiful Details

When we talk about accessibility, the conversation often centers on websites, apps, and digital tools. But it isn’t just about screen readers and contrast ratios.

As UX professionals, we spend a lot of time thinking about how people interact with digital spaces. Lately, I’ve been considering what happens when we apply those same principles to the physical world, to our relationships, and even to the way we move through life.

What if accessibility wasn’t just a compliance requirement, but a mindset that could shape our approach to everything?

Beyond Compliance

“Accessibility allows us to tap into everyone’s potential.” — Debra Ruh, TEDx Talk “Inclusion Branding: The Next Generation of Innovation” (2015)

In my UX2 class at CU Boulder, I invited my students to watch video recordings of vision-impaired people accomplishing tasks online and talking about their experience. In addition to leveling up my students’ empathy towards how inaccessible their world is for so many, it reinvigorated my considerations for making the world inclusively user-friendly.

Standards like WCAG guidelines, ARIA roles, and color contrast checkers are important, but they’re just a starting point. Real accessibility comes from understanding the lived experiences of people who navigate the world differently.

Consider how someone with limited mobility experiences a city designed without them in mind, or how an event space with harsh lighting and overwhelming sound can be unbearable for neurodivergent folk. True accessibility is about being genuinely curious as to who might be excluded from an experience, and asking, “How can we design for them, too?” That lens has to widen even further, beyond ability, to include language, culture, class, and cost. 

When we are asking what someone needs and what might be keeping them out in the first place, accessibility starts to resemble justice. 

Accessibility as a Life Principle

“The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes, but in having new eyes.” — Marcel Proust, À la recherche du temps perdu, 1913

Applying accessibility thinking to daily life means, of course, designing interactions with empathy. It means creating physical and emotional spaces where people feel seen and supported.

In Conversation: Accessibility is about how we communicate. It’s about creating space for quieter voices, ensuring neurodivergent colleagues feel comfortable participating, and recognizing the “normal” assumption that everyone can engage in the same way. It’s about proactively adapting.

In Community: We don’t often consider financial, social, or cultural barriers that might prevent someone from participating in an event, a hobby, or even a friendship. Designing an inclusive community means letting go of seeing your perspective as the norm and recognizing that different people need different ways to engage.

In Work & Collaboration: Some people thrive in structured meetings, while others need time to process before responding. Some work best with visual cues, while others prefer written documentation. Some needs are completely invisible, like chronic pain, trauma, or mental health struggles. When we lead with curiosity, flexibility, and compassion, we don’t have to know everyone’s story to make space for them.

Designing for a More Accessible World

“When we design for disability, we all benefit.” — Elise Roy, TED Talk “When We Design for Disability, We All Benefit” (2015)

A truly accessible world is less about better apps and websites and more about shifting our perspective. We can create the default assumption in our lives, and for new generations, that human experiences are naturally diverse and that we should design accordingly.

Instead of thinking of accessibility as an extra step, let’s make it the foundation. Whether we’re building products, organizing gatherings, or simply interacting with others, let’s ask ourselves who is being left out and, even more importantly, how we can invite them in.

Accessibility isn’t about screens, it’s about people. And people deserve to be included… everywhere.