Inclusive Design: How Do We Do It Well?

This session brings together different perspectives to explore what it really takes to design inclusively, from involving people with lived experience to making sure their time, knowledge and expertise are valued fairly. Expect honest reflections on what works, what doesn’t, the barriers that get in the way and the practical and ethical questions that come with designing for inclusion.

We’ll look at the how: how to involve people meaningfully, make the case for inclusive approaches, work within real-world constraints and recognise the expertise people bring to the process.

About our speakers

Tejal Patel

Access and Inclusive Environments Consultant at Arup

Tejal is a consultant on the Accessible and Inclusive Environments team at Arup, a global multidisciplinary engineering company. She works to make buildings and places more accessible and inclusive through design reviews, access strategies, diversity impact assessments, and research. Her background in architecture established her interest in interdisciplinary collaboration, people-centred design, and the social impact of the built environment.

Cara Lund

Associate at EDable Architecture

Lecturer at Newcastle University

Cara is an architect and educator, an Associate at EDable Architecture and Lecturer at Newcastle University. Her practice is rooted in designing with people and communities. Underpinning this is a belief that design should be democratic and have a social and environmental conscience. She is currently working on projects exploring different ways to co-design with children and young people.

Matthew (Mags) Margetts

Director at EDable Architecture

Senior Lecturer and Ethics and Practice co-lead at Newcastle University

Mags is an architect and educator, a Director at EDable Architecture and Senior Lecturer and Ethics and Practice co-lead at Newcastle University. His work involves thinking at all scales from furniture and building details to strategy and masterplanning (with some architecture along the way). His interest is in developing communication skills to help students, communities and stakeholders participate meaningfully in the design process.

Lauren Chaffey

Voice Coordinator, Voice (National Innovation Centre for Ageing, Newcastle University)

Lauren works at Voice, leading initiatives that connect the Voice community – including members of the public, patients and carers – with researchers and innovators to shape research, products and services. Throughout her career, she has worked alongside people and communities to lead meaningful involvement, ensuring their experiences perspectives influence research, services and products to ensure they genuinely meet people’s needs.

Michelle Dawson

Civic Design Lead, Bloomberg Philanthropies – North East Mayoral Strategic Authority

Michelle is a public-sector innovation and civic-design professional with 20 years’ experience designing with people whose perspectives and needs are too often overlooked in public services. Her work has included collaboration with older people, people living with life-limiting conditions, people experiencing mental-health difficulties, and neurodiverse young people, centering lived experience to make services more accessible, equitable and responsive.

About the venue

You can find further details about this venue here.