What is Inclusive Design, and How is it Different from Accessibility?

When our team at 55 Minutes decided to make a difference as a design studio to do work that impacts communities that are often overlooked, we quickly realised something: the terminology can be confusing, even for people working in tech and design. Terms like accessibility, and inclusive design often get used interchangeably. But they’re not quite the same thing.

So, what is inclusive design, and how does it differ from accessibility? Here’s what we’ve discovered so far.

Accessibility: Removing barriers so everyone can use something

When people talk about accessibility in design, they’re usually referring to making sure people with disabilities can use a product, service, or space. Accessibility is about removing barriers that would otherwise exclude them.

Think of:

• Websites with screen reader support for people who are blind or have low vision

  
  

• Captions on videos for people who are deaf or hard of hearing

  
  

• Wheelchair ramps to enter buildings without steps blocking the way

  
  

Accessibility asks: Can someone with a disability access this product or service?

It’s a baseline requirement. Without accessibility, whole groups of people are shut out completely.

Inclusive Design: Designing for diversity from the start

Inclusive design goes a step further. It’s not just about compliance or adding accommodations after the fact. It’s about considering the full range of human diversity - abilities, languages, cultures, ages, genders, and more - from the beginning of the design process.

For example:

• A voice journaling app can benefit not just people with visual impairments (VI), but also people who find typing tiring or stressful after a long day (For Polaraud.io, the audio journal app we designed, rigorous testing with VI users helped us create a VI-friendly experience for them)

  
  

• A colour palette with strong contrasts helps people with low vision, but also helps everyone when they’re using a phone in bright sunlight

What we did to design a dynamic and accessible digital version of Temasek Foundation’s annual report.

• Plain, simple language helps non-native speakers just as much as it helps people with cognitive disabilities

Inclusive design asks: How can we design experiences that work better for everyone, not just the “average” user?

The key difference

Accessibility design is part of inclusive design.

Inclusive design is about creating products and experiences that work for everyone, no matter their background, age, or ability. It’s about designing with diversity in mind from the start.

Accessibility design focuses more specifically on making sure people with disabilities (for example, those who are blind, deaf, or have limited mobility) can use a product easily.

Inclusive design is the big picture, and accessibility design is one important piece of that picture.

Why the confusion?

It’s easy to mix the two up because they overlap. An inclusive design process usually leads to accessible outcomes. And accessibility improvements often spark ideas for more inclusive design.

But the distinction matters. If we only think about accessibility, we risk designing after the fact, treating accessibility like a patch. Inclusive design invites us to ask deeper questions about who we’re excluding without even realising it.

Accessibility is a subset of inclusive design. Inclusive design is the broader philosophy.

Why this matters for businesses

If you’re a business owner or entrepreneur, this isn’t just a “nice-to-have.” Designing inclusively can open doors to wider audiences and loyal customers.

• Wider reach: Did you know that according to the World Health Organisation, 1 in 6 people worldwide experience some form of disability? That’s a huge market often overlooked.

  
  

• Better experiences for all: Features designed for people with disabilities often end up improving usability for everyone. Think of curb cuts, originally designed for wheelchair users, now used by parents with strollers or travelers with rolling suitcases.

  
  

Curb cuts benefit more than those on wheelchairs

• Future-proofing: Laws around accessibility are getting stricter. Building inclusively from the start helps you stay ahead of compliance requirements.

  
  

In other words, inclusive design isn’t just the “right” thing to do - it’s also the smart thing to do.

Our journey (and our invitation to you)

At 55 Minutes, we’re not experts yet. We’re learning, experimenting and asking new questions. Sometimes we get it right, sometimes we realise we could’ve done better. But each project teaches us something new. We're committed to this journey, and we're excited to share what we discover along the way.

What we love about inclusive design is that it’s less about perfection and more about progress. It’s about curiosity: Who might we be excluding here? How can we design for them, too?

Because here's what we're realising: inclusive design isn't just about doing the right thing (though it is that). It's about doing better work. More thoughtful work. More human work.

And that's something worth designing for.

We're always learning more about inclusive design and accessibility. If you have experiences, resources, or insights to share, we'd love to hear from you.