THE CHALLENGE
How does it feel to live in a world not designed for you?
What’s it like to never see people that look like you in advertising? To not have a voice in the cultural conversation? These are the questions we wanted every participant to ponder as we hosted an event to encourage brands to better address the needs of 1 in 5 Americans who live with a disability.
Watch the event video below.
THE SOLUTION
1 night. 100 marketing professionals. 8 panelists with a different perspective.
THE INSTALLATIONS
We set out to make every attendee understand what it feels like to live in a world not designed for them.
We made alterations to our environment to make people without disabilities stop and think for a moment about what it would be like to live in a world not designed for them. (After all, people with disabilities have to navigate that kind of world every day.)
From blacked out mirrors, to elevators you had to duck down to enter, to coat hooks out of your reach just a foot off the ground, to spoons with holes in the middle — each installation was a reminder that we can do better when it comes to thinking of opportunities to make the world more accessible.
THE PANEL
Our diverse group of panelists gave it to us straight.
The panel featured people with disabilities leading the charge for more inclusion as well as marketing executives from brands like Tommy Hilfiger and Microsoft who are pioneering innovative products to address the needs of the disabled community — and creating a more inclusive world for us all.
“It’s hurts me that people think that way because it makes me less of a human according to them… We are the third largest minority in the world. We are not put into any of the conversations. ”
“I think I should be targeted differently from Kelsey. Not because I have a disability and she doesn’t. But, because we have different lives and interests. ”
Christina Mallon, marketer and activist for people living with disabilities
PANELIST CREDITS:
Our panel featured people with disabilities leading the charge for more inclusion like Micah Fowler, Kelsey Fowler, Jillian Mercado, and Christina Annika Mallon, pioneers in inclusive design like Bradford and Bryan Manning the Founders of Two Blind Brothers, and Grace Jun from Parsons School of Design and Open Style Lab, as well as marketing executives from brands like Tommy Hilfiger and Microsoft who are pioneering innovative products to address the needs of the disabled community.
JOIN US
Together we will lead the charge for a more inclusive world for us all.
