Designing for Everyone – Radical Inclusion in Immersive Spaces

True inclusion in museums and immersive spaces means designing for all bodies, all brains, and all backgrounds. This article explores how multisensory experience design can drive radical equity, backed by theory, models, and global best practice.

Introduction: Inclusion Isn’t a Feature, It’s a Foundation

Across museums, brand experiences, and visitor attractions, the word “inclusion” is everywhere. Yet inclusion is often treated as an afterthought, retrofitted through subtitles, ramps, or "special accommodations" for a limited audience segment.

In a world where neurodiversity, disability, cultural plurality, and language difference are the norm, not the exception, it’s time to redefine inclusion not as compliance, but as creative opportunity.

This article argues that radically inclusive immersive design, sensory-rich, co-created, and body-first is not just ethically imperative, but a strategic and experiential advantage.

The Case for Radical Inclusion

The Demographics Have Shifted

• 1 in 5 people globally live with some form of disability (WHO, 2022)

• 15–20% of the population is estimated to be neurodivergent (CDC, 2020)

• Urban populations are increasingly multilingual, multicultural, and digitally fluent

Yet, the design of cultural and commercial experiences still defaults to a neurotypical, able-bodied, English-speaking majority.

Inclusion is no longer a niche need, it’s the baseline of relevance.

Foundational Models: Inclusive Design, Universal Design, and Beyond

Universal Design (UD)

Coined by architect Ronald Mace (1985), UD promotes the design of products and environments to be usable by all people, to the greatest extent possible, without the need for adaptation or specialised design.

Principles include:

• Equitable use

• Flexibility in use

• Simple and intuitive design

• Perceptible information

• Tolerance for error

• Low physical effort

• Size and space for approach and use
  
  

Inclusive Design (ID)

Popularised by the Helen Hamlyn Centre and Microsoft Design Toolkit, Inclusive Design extends beyond disability to address the full spectrum of human diversity, including race, gender identity, age, culture, and language.

Inclusive design recognises:

• Exclusion is often by design

• Design decisions can liberate or marginalise

• Inclusion benefits all users, not just some
  
  

Social Model of Disability

Contrasts the medical model by locating disability not in the individual, but in the barriers created by environments, attitudes, and systems (Oliver, 1990).

Implication: Inaccessibility is not a personal deficit, it’s a design failure.

Beyond Compliance: Designing for Empathy, Emotion, and Agency

In immersive environments, compliance-led accessibility (wheelchair routes, closed captions) often fails to capture the full human experience. What’s needed is experiential equity, where all visitors can access meaning, memory, and emotion, not just physical entry.

“Accessibility without narrative is performative.” Amani Willett, Inclusive Museum Network

Sensory-Centric Design: The Inclusive Superpower

Why Sensory Design Works for Everyone:

• Supports neurodiverse learners (autism, ADHD, dyslexia)

• Aids non-verbal, non-literate, or multilingual users

• Enables non-sighted or hearing-impaired visitors to engage fully

• Enhances emotional and cognitive recall for all

Evidence:

• Dual Coding Theory (Paivio, 1971): Information is better retained when presented in both visual and verbal formats.

• Embodied Cognition (Wilson, 2002): We understand the world through bodily experience, not abstract concepts alone.

• Affective Engagement Models (Falk & Dierking, 2000): Emotional connection is key to retention and meaning-making in museum visits.
  
  
  

Design Strategies for Radical Inclusion

Layered Interpretation

Provide multiple, simultaneous ways to access meaning, text, audio, video, tactile models, BSL, visual icons, and scent.

Case Study: The Science Museum (London) offers layered interpretation including easy read labels, audio description tours, and tactile maps.

Neuro-Inclusive Design

Create calm zones, use predictable navigation, reduce overstimulation, and offer flexible pacing.

Model: The SPELL Framework (Structured, Positive, Empathic, Low arousal, and Linked) by the National Autistic Society

Co-Design with Disabled and Marginalised Communities

Inclusion must be co-created, not imposed. Paid consultation and embedded collaboration are essential.

Case Study: Museum of London’s “Talking Tables” project for dementia-friendly co-curation.

Multisensory Storytelling

Use sound, vibration, light, scent, materiality, and movement to deliver narrative, not just static panels or voiceovers.

Example: The Canadian Museum for Human Rights uses vibration floors and ambient sound to support embodied, emotional interpretation.

Linguistic Accessibility

Beyond translation, use plain language, symbols, visual metaphors, and multilingual audio.

Case Study: The Immigration Museum (Melbourne) offers multilingual interactive exhibits co-created with migrant communities.

The Business and Mission Case

For Museums and Cultural Institutions

• Inclusion enhances social impact, supports funding criteria, and aligns with UN SDG 10 (Reduced Inequalities)

• Inclusive experiences foster longer dwell time, deeper emotional impact, and more intergenerational engagement
  
  

For Designers and Developers

• Sensory-first and inclusive environments are more resilient across demographics

• Innovation often arises from constraints and designing for edge cases fuels creative breakthroughs

  
  

For Brands and Attractions

• Inclusive experiences are more shareable, more memorable, and more emotionally resonant

• Gen Z and Gen Alpha expect diversity and representation as standard, not optional
  
  
  

Barriers to Inclusion—and How to Remove Them

Final Thought: Design for the Margins, Benefit the Majority

Inclusive immersive spaces do more than accommodate difference, they celebrate it. They tell richer stories. They move more people. They deliver stronger social and emotional impact.

When we design for every body, we don’t reduce experience, we amplify it.

“If you design for the edge, you’ll hit the middle. But if you design for the middle, you’ll miss the edge and the future.” Kat Holmes, Inclusive Design pioneer

by Tobie Anderson, Executive Design Director