AbleLiving.
Design for all abilities

Everyday appliances should bring joy and independence, yet disabilities—permanent or temporary—often create barriers. With 1 in 6 people worldwide living with a disability, accessibility is a universal need. We involved our design team in empathy exercises, letting them experience these challenges firsthand and ground their design decisions in real human needs.

My role

Timing

The project

After interviewing people with disabilities and comparing their experiences with our products, I designed and led a workshop where our designers immersed themselves in using our appliances while facing similar challenges.

Year: 2024
Duration: 3 weeks

Disabilities may be...

Immersion & Awareness

In a test kitchen workshop, designers used special tools to temporarily simulate disabilities and carry out cooking and washing sessions. This hands-on experience helped them better understand the challenges people face when using our appliances.

Products touch points

Our products involve specific touchpoints and ways of use. From handling to touch and safety, limited ability can create a unique set of challenges.

Our ways to Simulate the impairements

Impact & Outcomes

Our team role-playing the user experience, putting ourselves in the conditions of people with disabilities. We know that impairment cannot be fully understood in just a few hours, but this exercise gave our designers a valuable new perspective and helped turn research insights into lived experiences.

Role-Playing the Experience:
Contextualizing Every Element

From the workshop, we gathered valuable insights and translated them into initial ideas addressing everyday usage challenges. These concepts will be evaluated and could evolve into new accessories or digital support solutions.

Making our products more inclusive.