Co-Design

Co-design is a collaborative design approach that actively involves all stakeholders — including end users, domain experts, and designers — as equal partners in the design process. In accessibility work, co-design ensures that people with disabilities and the professionals who support them contribute their lived experience and domain knowledge to shaping solutions. Unlike traditional user-centered design where designers consult users for feedback, co-design positions participants as co-creators who help define problems, generate ideas, and develop prototypes. This approach often leads to more appropriate, sustainable, and empowering outcomes because the resulting designs reflect genuine user needs and contexts.