Beyond the screen: Accessibility in physical spaces
As a blind accessibility specialist, I’ve spent years helping companies and organisations improve digital experiences. Then I realised many of the same barriers exist beyond the screen. That insight led me to co-found Tactile NZ and explore orientation, wayfinding, and spatial understanding in physical environments.
Through personal stories and a tactile map you can touch, I’ll show why accessibility is not just a compliance exercise. It’s a design challenge that shapes confidence, independence, and belonging. The core message is simple: inclusive design begins by understanding how people experience the world around them.
Who is this talk for?
UX designers, product managers, software developers, accessibility practitioners, founders, and technology leaders interested in inclusive design and human-centred experiences.
What will attendees take away?
A deeper understanding of accessibility — recognising that many of the same design principles that improve digital experiences also apply to physical environments such as campuses, offices, venues, and public spaces.
A new way to think about UX — understanding that orientation, wayfinding, and spatial understanding are user-experience challenges, not just architectural or facilities issues.
Practical design questions they can use immediately — such as “How would a first-time visitor understand this space?” and “What assumptions does our design make about sight, memory, and confidence?” to help create more inclusive products, services, and environments.
Julius Charles Serrano is a blind accessibility specialist, keynote speaker, and co-founder of Tactile NZ, where he conducts accessibility reviews and audits alongside tactile map design for physical spaces.
Drawing on lived experience and two decades in accessibility, he helps companies and organisations make digital products and places easier to understand, and speaks on inclusive design, orientation, and creating spaces people can navigate with confidence.