In the empathy lab

“The Lab was excellent, the practical tasks and simulators really conveyed the difficulties people face.

The team is still talking about it and identifying changes to our work and documents.”

Adam C, Information Manager

The empathy lab experience is a practical hands-on workshop. Attendees use impairment simulators while working through a series of day-to-day practical tasks. The tasks include using maps, finding information on their mobile phone, opening locks and planning a meeting or event.

This gives participants a deep insight into the barriers faced by people when products and services have not been designed with accessibility in mind.

Attendees are encouraged to identify actions that they can take to reduce the barriers experienced by people in their own contexts and environments.

Read more about our empathy lab workshops or creating an empathy lab.

What’s in the lab

  • Six pairs of impairment simulation glasses on a table

    Visual impairment simulators (by Visual Impairment North East)

    The visual impairment simulators are glasses which give a sense of the changes to a person’s vision if they have conditions such as macular degeneration, cataracts or tunnel vision. In the lab we explore some simple design considerations that help reduce the barriers for people with low or impaired vision.

  • A person holding a mobile phone while wearing manual dexterity simulation gloves

    Mobility and dexterity simulators (Cambridge inclusive design toolkit)

    We use gloves with strips of plastic that reduce the range of movement in your fingers and thumbs, weighted vests and joint braces to give a sense of the challenges faced by people with reduced mobility and dexterity. This gives incredible insight into the design of services and spaces. We explore the principles of good services.

  • Digital simulators for colour blindness and dyslexia

    Colour blindness and dyslexia simulators

    Th colour-blindness and dyslexia simulators run on a laptop, table or phone. They help us consider the accessibility of content and signage. We look at how to make accessible charts and graphs, and consider the importance of well structured, jargon-free content. We also discuss the role of screen readers.