Inclusive Design:
From the Netherlands to China

In a world where design is still too often dictated by what we see, the question arises: what happens when we shift that focus to what we feel?

This project began as a quiet resistance to visual dominance in design—a response shaped not only by the needs of visually impaired individuals, but by a deeper urge to rethink how we experience the world. Touch, after all, is not a lesser sense. It is the first one we develop. It is how we learn to trust, to navigate, to know. And yet, it is rarely placed at the center of how we design tools, environments, or systems.

Studio Boey, based in Eindhoven, was founded on this belief: that design can and should begin with the hands. With every product, prototype, and collaboration, the work seeks to ask—what if inclusion wasn’t an afterthought, but a starting point?

That question becomes even more urgent when set against the backdrop of two very different design cultures: China and the Netherlands. One rooted in centuries of handcraft and rapid modern transformation; the other shaped by critical theory, human-centered innovation, and social design thinking. This project exists between these two worlds, not to compare them, but to connect them—through tactile methods, shared realities, and educational dialogue.

At the center of the project is a desire to move beyond theory. In China, inclusive design is still emerging. Many students, despite passion and creativity, lack access to real-life testing, user-centered methods, and inclusive frameworks. This project aims to address that gap through field research, interviews with educators, and hands-on workshops with design students. It’s about grounding design education in practice—not just speculation.

Alongside researcher and interdisciplinary thinker Biin Shen, the project expands its reach. While one part of the work focuses on sensory design and haptic form, the other maps the systemic and social dimensions of inclusion. Together, we explore what it means to teach, test, and implement inclusive thinking in real contexts—not just in concept.

Rather than importing solutions from the West, this work is a process of translation—adapting tactile design practices to local Chinese conditions while inviting new forms of exchange between the two countries. The ambition isn’t to deliver answers, but to open space: for experimentation, for collaboration, and for empathy-driven innovation.

Inclusion, here, is not a buzzword. It’s a method, a challenge, and a long-term commitment. One that asks designers—especially the next generation—to start not with the image, but with the interface between hand and material, between user and world.

This is not just a design project. It’s a cultural conversation, told through tools, touch, and the desire to make space for everyone—regardless of ability, background, or place.