Empathy tools are physical simulations and constraint-inducing artefacts that allow designers to experience, even imperfectly, the physical or perceptual limitations their users live with. Wearing gloves to simulate reduced dexterity, viewing a screen through a blurred lens to simulate low vision, or navigating a space in a wheelchair for a day. These experiences transfer visceral understanding to a design team in ways that no amount of data can replicate. They build the kind of embodied empathy that leads to genuinely inclusive design.
Empathy Tools
Experiencing user constraints first-hand to design with real empathy
A
Designers Academy
11 March 2025 · 4 min read
ResearchMethods
In brief
Empathy tools are physical simulations that let designers experience user limitations firsthand, such as reduced dexterity or low vision, fostering embodied empathy for genuinely inclusive design.
