inclusive design Archives | Rodighiero.Design for All

Articles Tagged with: inclusive design

May

European Accessibility Act: what this really means for product design companies

European Accessibility Act: cosa cambia davvero per le aziende di product design

Il 28 giugno 2025 è una data che molte aziende manifatturiere hanno segnato in agenda come scadenza burocratica. Un anno dopo, quelle stesse aziende si trovano ad affrontare una domanda che non avevano previsto: perché la conformità non è sufficiente?

Cosa prevede l’EAA: una sintesi per i non-giuristi

The European Accessibility Act (EU Directive 2019/882) requires manufacturers, importers and distributors to ensure that certain categories of products and services are accessible to people with disabilities by 28 June 2025. The categories covered include computers, smartphones, TVs, e-book readers, payment terminals, ticket machines, banking services, e-commerce, transport services and electronic communications.

In technical terms, the directive refers to the principles of Design for All: products and services must be perceivable, operable, understandable and robust for people with various types of disabilities — motor, visual, hearing and cognitive.

Compliance is not voluntary. Non-compliant products may be withdrawn from the market. Penalties vary by Member State, but the principle is consistent: accessibility is a legal requirement, not an ethical option.

Which products are affected — and which aren’t

The directive explicitly covers: self-service terminals (ATMs, ticket machines, kiosks), e-reader hardware, computers and operating systems, smartphones, televisions with digital services, e-commerce services, retail banking services, electronic communications services, and passenger transport (websites, apps, e-tickets).

The following are not directly covered: furniture, cosmetics, clothing, kitchen utensils, and industrial products not intended for the end consumer. However — and this is the point that many companies have not yet grasped — the EAA does not exhaust the legal issue: Legislative Decree 82/2005 (Consumer Code), Presidential Decree 503/1996, UNI EN standards and public procurement legislation already impose accessibility requirements in many contexts not covered by the European directive.

The critical issue that many companies underestimate

In the year following the EAA’s entry into force, a recurring pattern emerged: companies consulted their legal departments, which produced a compliance checklist. The checklist was passed on to the technical department, which added attributes to the documentation and revised the user instructions. The product remained unchanged.

This approach has a specific name: retrofitting. It is the most expensive — and least effective — way to address accessibility. The reasons are structural.

A product that has not been designed with human diversity in mind cannot become accessible through minor modifications. Accessibility is not added at the end of a design process: it is incorporated in the early stages, when fundamental decisions on form, function, materials and interaction are still open.

Anyone who has worked with Design for All knows this from direct experience: integrating accessibility principles during the brief and concept phases reduces subsequent adaptation costs, improves usability for all users — not just those with disabilities — and generates more competitive products, not less.

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From compliance to competitive advantage: the role of Design for All

The market for people with disabilities in Europe comprises over 87 million people. If we include older people (by 2050, a third of the European population will be over 64), people with temporary disabilities, and family members who influence purchasing decisions, the scope expands enormously.

Companies that integrated Design for All into their R&D process before the EAA are not facing a compliance crisis: they are reaping the benefits of a choice made well in advance. Their products do not require emergency updates because user diversity was already part of the original brief.

The competitive advantage is not theoretical. It is measurable in: a reduction in the number of product variants needed to cover different market segments; a reduction in returns and after-sales service requests; increased customer loyalty; and an expansion of the customer base without increasing production costs.

What does it mean to design for the EAA from the very beginning?

Integrating EAA principles right from the start of the process essentially means doing three things:

First: involving users with different abilities in the research and testing phases. Not as a token statistical sample, but as the primary source of design requirements. It is the difference between knowing that an older person ‘might have difficulty’ and understanding exactly where, why and how to modify the concept.
Second: define accessibility criteria in the project brief — not in the final specifications. The question ‘is this product accessible?’ must be asked before the product’s design has been finalised, not when it is already in production.
Third: verify compliance through prototypes and test models before final production, not through post-production legal checklists. A prototype tested with real users is worth more than ten compliance audits.

Design for All consultancy

Now is the time to act

For companies developing new products or re-evaluating existing ranges, the time is now — not because the EAA imposes it as a bureaucratic urgency, but because the market demands it as a prerequisite for competitiveness.

Companies that treat accessibility as a compliance issue are tackling the wrong problem. Those that treat it as a design opportunity are building the competitive advantage of the next decade. The distinction is not semantic. It is strategic.

For 20 years, we have been working with companies — from bathroom furnishings to cosmetics, from electronics to cultural venues — to translate this distinction into better products, environments and services. Not because it is ethically right.

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Apr

Design for All: the bathroom as a contemporary inclusive system

For too long, the bathroom has been regarded as a functional space: an environment governed by measurements, regulations, minimum specifications and solutions often designed more to solve a problem than to create a comfortable user experience. Yet it is in this most intimate living space that the true maturity of a design is revealed. The bathroom does not merely measure comfort; it measures autonomy, dignity, the continuity of daily routines and, ultimately, the way in which design interprets human diversity.

When accessibility is treated as a mere adaptation, the design is limited to making corrections. When, on the other hand, it is conceived as a generative principle, the bathroom becomes a laboratory of innovation, where form, function, material and technology converge in a more evolved vision of living. It is in this transition that Design for All acquires its deepest meaning: not as a specialist category, but as an approach capable of making the design more enduring and more contemporary.

Today, in the international context, the rigid distinction between standard bathrooms and accessible bathrooms is finally beginning to lose its substance. Not because specific needs have disappeared, but because the most advanced design has begun to recognise human variability as a structural fact rather than a marginal exception. Designing for all is not a compromise; it is an act of systemic awareness.

Find out about the economic benefits of Design for All

From medical devices to contemporary design language

The early days of home accessibility were inevitably focused on technical and healthcare aspects: exposed grab rails, built-in seats, raised platforms and assistive devices. These were useful and necessary solutions, but often felt out of place within the language of interior architecture. The accessible bathroom was long portrayed as a ‘different’ kind of bathroom, separated from the vocabulary of comfort, well-being and formal quality.

Today, the most interesting shift concerns not only performance, but language. A significant example is the spread of floor-level showers and integrated drainage systems, which have transformed a functional necessity into a sign of architectural quality. Geberit CleanLine channels are presented precisely as an essential, hygienic solution capable of facilitating continuous movement, contributing to a more fluid and less compartmentalised concept of the bathroom. The threshold disappears, the surface is redefined, and accessibility merges with the continuity of the space.

This is a decisive cultural shift: when an inclusive solution no longer appears as a technical compromise but as an expression of design quality, the collective perception of the product also changes. The bathroom is no longer merely functional; it becomes more intuitive, more elegant, more compelling.

Adaptive systems: when the bathroom transforms

The next step is even more significant, because it concerns not only the form but also the product’s behaviour over time. The most interesting frontier lies in adaptive systems: elements that do not require the user to conform to a fixed configuration, but which seek to adapt themselves according to posture, needs and conditions of use.

From this perspective, initiatives such as ROPOX AdaptLine and SlimLine are significant above all because they point the way forward: introducing height adjustment as a standard feature of the bathroom system rather than as an exceptional addition. However, when viewed through a design lens, it becomes clear that this frontier is still incomplete: the principle is sound, but the interaction could be more intuitive and the design language more mature, less technical and more consistent with the contemporary domestic environment.

Here lies an important theoretical difference: traditional design tends to establish a ‘correct’ measurement, whilst adaptive design introduces transformability as a value. It does not seek an ideal average, but creates the conditions for a plurality of uses.

Smart bathrooms and reduced cognitive load

In this context, technology is not interesting in itself. It becomes so when it reduces the physical and interpretative burden of the experience. A truly inclusive bathroom is not merely safe: it is understandable, intuitive, consistent in its signage, and capable of guiding the user without forcing them to make constant adjustments or interpretations.

TOTO WASHLET systems, with individual adjustments for the spray, temperature and nozzle position, alongside features such as EWATER+, automatic descaling and energy-saving mode, demonstrate how personal hygiene can become more precise and less reliant on complex manual sequences. Similarly, Roca In-Wash Inspira integrates washing, drying, a control panel, a night light, a presence sensor and, in the most advanced versions, even the cistern integrated into the bowl, reducing bulk and simplifying the overall design. In these cases, technology does not dominate the scene: it recedes into a more linear, quieter, more natural interaction.

This is the pinnacle of the contemporary bathroom: not the accumulation of functions, but their discreet orchestration. True innovation does not lie in adding complexity, but in ensuring that technical complexity translates into a simpler experience.

Beauty and inclusion: a mature convergence

For a long time, it was believed that accessibility and beauty belonged to two distinct realms: necessity on the one hand, and desire on the other. Today, this dichotomy appears increasingly untenable. The most mature design demonstrates that inclusion does not impoverish the formal language, but rather compels it to become more essential, clearer, more honest and gentle.

The contemporary bathroom does not require special objects displayed as exceptions. It demands products capable of integrating support, safety, intuitiveness and perceptual value into a single synthesis. It is precisely on this fine line that our expertise lies: not in designing separate solutions, but in developing bathroom products that transform inclusive needs into architectural quality, clarity of use and contemporary language.

From this perspective, Design for All does not intervene at the end to correct; it enters at the beginning to guide. It does not add. It organises. It does not specialise. It makes the design more refined, more open, capable of enduring over time.

See the Prime project

See the Shine project

Designing for human diversity

Global demographic trends make this consideration all the more urgent. The United Nations indicates that by 2050, one in six people worldwide will be over 65, whilst the WHO notes that by the same date, the population aged 60 and over will reach approximately 2.1 billion. This is not a niche issue, but a structural feature of contemporary societies.

Designing a bathroom today therefore means accepting the variability of abilities as a standard feature of the design: changing mobility, reduced balance, shifting strength, failing eyesight, and needs that evolve over the course of a lifetime. The inclusive bathroom is a space designed for a whole lifetime, and for the possibility that that life may pass through different stages without losing autonomy and dignity.

This is, ultimately, the greatest challenge of contemporary design: not to build perfect environments for an ideal moment, but systems capable of remaining relevant over time.

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Nov

Cultural Accessibility: visible and invisible barriers in cultural venues

Reflections from the national course of the Foundation School of Cultural Heritage and Activities

Cultural accessibility as a systemic vision

Cultural Accessibility as a Systemic Vision

Cultural accessibility is not a set of technical requirements or a protocol to be applied to comply with regulations. It is a cultural and organizational process that affects the entire ecosystem of cultural venues: architectural spaces, modes of use, communication systems, professional skills, and interpersonal relationships.

A transformation that requires vision, awareness, and a design approach capable of embracing the complexity of human diversity.

This perspective is at the heart of the national course “Cultural Accessibility: Principles and Practices,” promoted by the Fondazione Scuola dei Beni e delle Attività Culturali as part of the Personeper – Accessibility in Cultural Venues program.

As part of this training program, Francesco Rodighiero, together with Antonella Agnoli, curated the lesson “Visible and Invisible Barriers: Understanding the Context to Define Solutions,” a module that explores in depth the obstacles — tangible and intangible — that impact the full experience of cultural sites.

Recognizing barriers beyond the obvious

In the collective imagination, museums, archives, and libraries are perceived as places naturally open to all. In reality, their accessibility is often limited by a constellation of barriers that interfere with enjoyment, orientation, understanding, and a sense of belonging.

Physical barriers constitute the first level of obstacle: steps, inadequate ramps, inadequate elevators, narrow passageways, fragmented internal routes. They don’t just affect people with mobility disabilities: they also affect those experiencing temporary fragility, such as parents with strollers, the elderly, or visitors with limited mobility.

Added to these are perceptual and sensorial barriers: orientation systems that don’t guide, insufficient lighting, difficult-to-read text, acoustically problematic environments. These difficulties impact everyone’s experience, not just those with hypo- or hypersensitivity.

Finally, technological barriers represent an increasingly relevant dimension. QR codes, inaccessible digital interfaces, content incompatible with assistive technologies, and the lack of digital literacy generate new forms of invisible exclusion.

Although evident, these barriers are often addressed in a fragmented manner, without a comprehensive strategy. Cultural accessibility, however, requires a unified, person-centered project.

The symbolic threshold of cultural places

Many obstacles are less tangible but equally impactful. Cultural places, in fact, harbor a symbolic threshold that can convey distance or a sense of inadequacy.

The language used on the panels, the complexity of the narratives, the information systems designed for a cultured or specialist audience, the room layouts that suggest who belongs there and who doesn’t: all these elements combine to define a cultural barrier that is difficult to break down.

These are subtle but decisive dynamics. They can transform a museum into a place perceived as elitist, or a library into a space that is “not for me,” despite its public mission.

The overall program of the Personeper program explores these themes in depth: https://www.fondazionescuolapatrimonio.it/offerta-formativa/personeper-accessibilita-luoghi-cultura/

Organizational barriers: what you can’t see

A significant portion of the lesson addresses systemic barriers, or invisible obstacles generated by organizational and management choices.

Limited or incompatible hours with daily life, a lack of flexible services, a lack of dedicated cultural mediation staff, inadequately trained staff in inclusive hospitality, and a misalignment between online communication and in-person experiences: these are factors that profoundly impact the visitor experience.

Cultural accessibility depends not only on spaces and technologies, but also on the quality of the processes that govern the life of a cultural institution.

Social justice and economic barriers

Accessibility is also a question of resources. The cost of transportation, educational services, workshops, or technologies can constitute a significant obstacle for many citizens.

Designing inclusively means questioning the economic sustainability of cultural experiences and imagining equitable and accessible models of enjoyment. Equity is not an abstract principle: it is a concrete design element that determines who can—and who cannot—access culture.

Relational barriers: the most fragile dimension

The most subtle, but perhaps most decisive, barriers are relational ones.

The lack of listening, the difficulty in building trust, the sense of loneliness, the lack of human support in critical moments are all elements that decisively impact access to culture.

Relationships are an essential component of the cultural project. Without relationships, no place is truly accessible. Investing in the quality of hospitality, cultural mediation, and community building means creating real conditions for participation.

Transforming spaces: appropriation, flexibility, and everyday life

The examples of European libraries analyzed during the lecture—from Copenhagen to Barcelona, from Oslo to Whitechapel—show how the most inclusive cultural spaces are those capable of adapting, transforming, and welcoming different modes of presence.

Places that allow people to pause, study, meet, observe, participate, and rest.

Spaces that do not impose posture or behavior, but offer freedom of use and the possibility of appropriation. Architectural and functional flexibility thus becomes a fundamental tool for embracing human diversity.

Accessibility as an opportunity for cultural regeneration

Conceiving cultural accessibility as a design principle means recognizing it as an opportunity for regeneration.

It is a strategic investment that allows us to rethink services, organizational models, and forms of hospitality, broadening participation and enhancing a diverse audience.

Accessibility is not a bureaucratic constraint, but a condition that enriches cultural venues, strengthens their public mission, and makes them vital hubs of contemporary communities.

Aug

Accessible Museums and Design for All: towards a new alliance between culture, people and design

Rethinking the museum: accessibility as a cultural paradigm

Museum accessibility can no longer be reduced to the mere elimination of physical obstacles or simple compliance with regulations. It now represents one of the most urgent epistemological challenges of contemporary cultural design. In this perspective, Design for All is not just a method but a vision: designing from diversity, taking the plurality of visitors as a generative value rather than an exception to be managed.

Over the past years, European museums have progressively broadened their understanding of accessibility, integrating sensory, cognitive, social and relational dimensions. Yet, the prevailing models often remain fragmented, oriented towards technical interventions and lacking a transferable methodological structure.

Check out the case study

Musei Accessibili | Rodighiero.Design for All | Kit di supporto alla visita del museo

Musei Accessibili | Rodighiero.Design for All | Ausili

Musei Accessibili | Rodighiero.Design for All | Cani guida per ciechi

An experience that will reshape the Italian landscape

By 2025, our portfolio will include a pioneering experience redefining how accessibility is conceived within museums. A systemic project, developed with 12 Italian museums, involving over 200 stakeholders — from users with disabilities to cultural operators, accessibility experts and public decision-makers.

Structured in six rigorous phases, this initiative has delivered unprecedented outcomes at both national and European level: structured mapping of needs, collective prioritisation, elaboration of meta-design solutions, development of operational guidelines, creation of accessible exhibition concepts, and validation through self-assessment tools.

What we have learned: from co-design to inclusive governance

The most profound lesson lies in recognising that accessibility is not a solution, but a process. A process beginning with genuine listening, strengthened through ethnographic research, and consolidated in tangible outputs transforming every stage of the museum ecosystem: from pre-visit communication to the visitor’s experience, staff training, and organisational practices.

Accessibility is never complete unless accompanied by organisational change. It is not the final product of a project but its generative matrix. It cuts across space, time, language and audience relationships. Accessibility is governance. Accessibility is culture.

Musei Accessibili | Rodighiero.Design for All | Realtà aumentata

Musei Accessibili | Rodighiero.Design for All | Interazione

Musei Accessibili | Rodighiero.Design for All | Famiglie e bambini

Towards the museum as an inclusive platform

The accessible museum, in its most advanced form, emerges as an adaptive cultural platform, generating meanings and relationships for those historically excluded from cultural participation. Within this framework, Design for All proves the most advanced approach to transform inclusion into a design, operational and communication driver.

progressive co-design models engaging diverse user groups;
multimodal narrative interfaces adapted to visitors’ sensory and cognitive profiles;
flexible exhibition formats evolving through continuous feedback;
qualitative and quantitative indicators to monitor perceived accessibility;
cross-media communication strategies designed for inclusive pre-visit engagement.

Musei Accessibili | Rodighiero.Design for All | Accessibilità diffusa

A systemic challenge: the time for accessibility is now

With the upcoming enforcement of the European Accessibility Act, cultural institutions must make a crucial choice: restrict themselves to minimal compliance, or embrace accessibility as a strategic lever.

Thanks to years of research and pioneering projects, our studio is ready to provide a vision and a method combining scientific rigour, design empathy and operational feasibility.

For further details on our methodology: Design for All process.

References and resources:

Jul

Design for All Italia: a new space in our portfolio

A new section has been added to our portfolio, dedicated to projects developed in collaboration with the association Design for All Italia. This page brings together concrete experiences, shaped through a structured process focused on impact: that of accessible design driven by process.

In recent years, our studio has contributed to design initiatives where accessibility is seen as a strategic driver for innovation. The case studies presented in this section are tangible examples of how Design for All can translate into functional, intelligent, and transferable solutions.

Among these projects are technological systems and retail spaces in which the user experience has been reimagined starting from real needs, usage evidence, and field observation. Our contribution has ranged from user research to usability testing, from co-design workshops to the validation of inclusive solutions.

One of the central goals was to ensure comprehensibility and comfort in the interaction with new technologies, avoiding the risk that innovation becomes a barrier. Self-checkout systems, smart devices, multisensory interfaces, and cashless environments were analyzed in depth, with the direct involvement of users with different profiles in terms of age, ability, and digital familiarity.

The new page is available at this link. It provides an overview of the project contexts, a summary of the activities carried out, and the benefits generated in each case. It’s a space that documents a process: accessible design as an evidence-based approach, capable of creating measurable value for businesses and improving the experience for everyone.

For those interested in exploring the scope and variety of the Design for All approach, we also recommend visiting the case studies published by Design for All Italia. A curated collection of projects, contexts and solutions that demonstrate how inclusive design can generate real impact across diverse sectors — from retail to cultural venues, from technology to services.

see our process