At the NOUS Talk "Inclusion, analogue & digital" on 3 October as part of the Vienna Design Week, representatives from ScienceCenter Netzwerk Wien, Studio Tactile, Eye to Ear, and from science and business met to reflect together at Ullmannstraße 35. Use cases from practice were discussed and insights into the multi-layered work processes were given. Inclusive design in the museum and exhibition sector is increasingly attracting attention and taking place in the intensive interweaving of analogue and digital media. New inclusive formats aim to actively contribute to making content and spaces accessible to all visitors.

What does Design for All mean?

Instead of starting from specifically selected and singularly addressed target groups, inclusive offers in the sense of a "design for all" access create new offers with added value for a variety of visitors. It makes sense to offer information in connection with different channels, for example when the self-determined use of an app is framed by a personal invitation and personal mediation. In addressing different senses, the dominance of visual viewing in the aesthetic experience can in turn be broken through, and a predominantly fact-based mediation can be expanded through sensory access.

"In our opinion, the most important criteria are comprehensibility and the autonomy of the visitor. Every visitor should be able to decide for themselves what, when, how often and how long they want to learn and experience something in the museum." - Linda Miesen, Studio Tactile 

"We want to arouse curiosity about science and technology, their processes and connections, make them understandable and promote the joy of independent discovery in young and old alike." - Heidrun Schulze, ScienceCenter Network Vienna

"In inclusion projects it is especially important to involve all stakeholders to find a product that meets the artistic-aesthetic as well as the special needs of user groups." Max Arends, NOUS Knowledge Management GmbH 

Cultural education tools should not be designed as an alternative for special target groups with disabilities, but should be easy and intuitive to use by everyone - regardless of prior knowledge, language skills, physical or cognitive abilities.