Inclusive LIFE

Monday, 20. dec 2021

Entrance with the ticket of the permanent exhibition Encounters.

Today’s world is moving towards an inclusive environment and the need to create products and services that accommodate the needs of different target groups is becoming increasingly important. Taking into account the needs of society as a whole, it is perfectly natural that all children receive an education that meets their needs and potential.

Therefore, students’ needs should be taken into account in the development of teaching materials and environments. It is reasonable to develop materials that are universal, but also adjustable to suit individual requirements. Even the smallest details can serve as a starting point for making study materials or items of daily use more accessible.

Experience shows that the development of truly innovative learning materials requires school/university students, teachers, researchers from different fields, specialists, designers, manufacturers, etc. to be involved in the creative process. The exhibition, which is aimed at all interested parties, provides an overview of how Tallinn University students from different fields have used their knowledge in an interdisciplinary manner, creating user-friendly study aids that are both universal and applicable to larger target groups whilst also taking into account various special needs.

The development of study aids must be treated as an user-driven design process. It is believed that designers should create products that suit the user, not the other way around. In developing study aids, problems were addressed by applying the principles of user-centred design, which served as a basis for determining the user’s actual needs, taking into account the requirements of the target group in the creative process and assessing the result via the user experience. User-centred design is based on the principle of cyclicality, constantly striving to find better solutions. The exhibition is part of this process, conveying information and our experience and inviting the visitors to think beyond and develop innovative solutions.

The exhibition Inclusive LIFE offers ideas for:

• making study aids and other items of daily use accessible;
• helping to find an answer to the question of whether special needs are indeed special;
• providing an overview of the tactile books prepared for the blind/visually impaired by the students of the Tallinn University Integrated Craft and Home Economics Technologies programme over the last 15 years.

The exhibition Inclusive LIFE provides information on multiple levels (on screens and posters as well as via QR codes). Therefore, there is plenty of information displayed, but it is not always easily accessible. On the other hand, the exhibition introduces practical applications. Such a structure invites visitors to think about how to apply the principles of inclusive design to create an accessible environment, (learning) tools, etc. that would be universal, but adjustable to individual needs. Visitors are offered the opportunity to watch, listen to and decide for themselves: whether and how we should create accessible environments and find the answer to the question of whether special needs are indeed special.

Even the smallest details can serve as a starting point for making study materials or items of daily use more accessible.

Open until 26 January 2022
Wed to Sun 10:00-18:00
Participation Hall
Entrance with the ticket of the permanent exhibition Encounters.