Design Anthropology
Invisible Disabilities and the Limits of Accessibility Symbols
DESIGN THEORY
Globally, one in seven people lives with a disability, and around 80% of disabilities are invisible, meaning they are not immediately apparent to others. These can include temporary, situational, or permanent disabilities, as well as neurological, cognitive, visual, auditory, and sensory conditions. They can also include respiratory conditions and chronic or rare health conditions such as asthma and diabetes. Each person with an invisible disability has individual access needs and faces different barriers in everyday life.
In recent years, there has been increasing representation of autistic characters in television series. This has helped bring greater visibility to invisible conditions and has also raised questions about whether the International Symbol of Accessibility is sufficiently inclusive of people with different types of disabilities.
The symbol, which is used to identify accessible areas and facilities, is traditionally represented by a blue square featuring a person using a wheelchair. However, in the United Kingdom, the use of a green lanyard featuring a sunflower has become a way of identifying people with non-visible disabilities who may require additional assistance. These disabilities can include autism, anxiety, depression, and a wide range of other conditions.
One of the problems that arises when some disabilities are classified as “physical” is the assumption that others are therefore “non-physical.” This distinction is misleading. Autism, for example, is a neurodevelopmental condition associated with differences in how the brain develops and functions.
When disabilities are perceived as “non-physical,” they can sometimes be regarded as less serious, and people experiencing them may be expected to simply “try harder.” Yet disability does not disappear because it is not immediately visible.
As Tenoch Huerta suggested in his discussion of “echaleganismo,” just as we would not ask a wheelchair user to walk faster, we should not ask an autistic person to simply “put up with” an environment that has not been designed with their needs in mind. It is not necessarily a lack of willingness or motivation to “get there.” It is important to consider individual access needs and the barriers faced by people with both visible and non-visible disabilities.
The sunflower lanyard can help users navigate environments such as airports more independently while providing a discreet way of communicating that they may need additional assistance, without requiring them to repeatedly explain their disability or their specific needs. UK government guidance explicitly recognises lanyards and badges as optional ways for people with non-visible disabilities to signal to airport staff that they may need additional support.
Although this initiative has been widely adopted in the United Kingdom, the sunflower lanyard does not necessarily carry the same meaning everywhere, including Spain and Latin America. Its recognition depends on whether the relevant organisation, institution, or community participates in or recognises the scheme. The initiative has, however, expanded internationally rather than remaining exclusively British. For example, airports and organisations in Ireland have adopted the Hidden Disabilities Sunflower scheme. (
This distinction is important because the meaning of an object is not inherent in its physical form. Meaning is produced socially and culturally. A design can be created to solve a specific problem within one social context and subsequently be adopted by other societies, but its meaning and effectiveness depend on whether those societies recognise and support it.
From a formal and functional perspective, the sunflower lanyard is a useful communication tool because it can signal that a person may need additional time, assistance, or understanding without requiring them to disclose a specific diagnosis. It therefore addresses a gap that is not necessarily addressed by the traditional International Symbol of Accessibility.
Anthropology, as a discipline, studies human beings, their behaviour, cultures, and social relationships. Anthropologists examine how people interact, communicate, organise their lives, and adapt to their environments. Through research, they can identify needs, behaviours, and expectations within specific social and cultural contexts.
Design, on the other hand, focuses on creating objects, services, systems, and experiences that respond to human needs. Designers seek to improve functionality, usability, efficiency, and, where relevant, aesthetics, so that products and services can better respond to the people who use them.
When design and anthropology work together, they can produce objects and solutions that respond more effectively to the needs of people within a particular context. Anthropologists can provide insight into social practices, behaviours, and needs, while designers can translate those insights into products, services, environments, and systems.
In this sense, combining design and anthropology can lead to a better understanding of human needs and to more effective and meaningful solutions. The sunflower lanyard is an interesting example because it was developed in response to a specific accessibility problem but has subsequently been adopted in different countries and contexts. Its history demonstrates that the meaning and effectiveness of an object are shaped not only by its design but also by the cultural and institutional context in which it is used.
Ultimately, accessibility should not be understood as a single visual symbol or a universal solution. Different disabilities create different barriers, and different people have different access needs. The challenge is therefore not simply to create more inclusive symbols, but to create environments, services, and systems that recognise the diversity of human experience.
It is important to continue moving towards genuine inclusion for people with all types of disabilities and to support initiatives that make everyday life more accessible, independent, and dignified.
The sunflower lanyard is an interesting example of how design can operate beyond the creation of a physical object. Its effectiveness depends on a larger system of communication involving the user, staff, institutions, and the social recognition of the symbol. The lanyard therefore functions not only as an object but also as an interface between an individual and an organisation.
From a design perspective, this raises an important question: are we designing objects, or are we designing relationships? A lanyard can only communicate a need if the person receiving that communication understands its meaning and knows how to respond. In this sense, accessibility is not only a question of physical design but also of service design, communication, organisational procedures, and social practices.
This is where design anthropology becomes particularly relevant. Rather than looking only at what people say they need, design anthropology examines how people actually live, behave, interact, and negotiate their environments. It allows designers to understand that a design solution does not exist in isolation: it becomes meaningful through the practices and cultural context in which it is used.
Design Anthropology asks us to move from designing objects for users to understanding and designing the relationships, systems, and cultural contexts in which those objects acquire meaning.
“The images are sourced either from the Hiring Disability website or from the Australian Netflix series Heartbreak High, which features an autistic character.
More to Discover
Design Anthropology
Invisible Disabilities and the Limits of Accessibility Symbols
DESIGN THEORY
Globally, one in seven people lives with a disability, and around 80% of disabilities are invisible, meaning they are not immediately apparent to others. These can include temporary, situational, or permanent disabilities, as well as neurological, cognitive, visual, auditory, and sensory conditions. They can also include respiratory conditions and chronic or rare health conditions such as asthma and diabetes. Each person with an invisible disability has individual access needs and faces different barriers in everyday life.
In recent years, there has been increasing representation of autistic characters in television series. This has helped bring greater visibility to invisible conditions and has also raised questions about whether the International Symbol of Accessibility is sufficiently inclusive of people with different types of disabilities.
The symbol, which is used to identify accessible areas and facilities, is traditionally represented by a blue square featuring a person using a wheelchair. However, in the United Kingdom, the use of a green lanyard featuring a sunflower has become a way of identifying people with non-visible disabilities who may require additional assistance. These disabilities can include autism, anxiety, depression, and a wide range of other conditions.
One of the problems that arises when some disabilities are classified as “physical” is the assumption that others are therefore “non-physical.” This distinction is misleading. Autism, for example, is a neurodevelopmental condition associated with differences in how the brain develops and functions.
When disabilities are perceived as “non-physical,” they can sometimes be regarded as less serious, and people experiencing them may be expected to simply “try harder.” Yet disability does not disappear because it is not immediately visible.
As Tenoch Huerta suggested in his discussion of “echaleganismo,” just as we would not ask a wheelchair user to walk faster, we should not ask an autistic person to simply “put up with” an environment that has not been designed with their needs in mind. It is not necessarily a lack of willingness or motivation to “get there.” It is important to consider individual access needs and the barriers faced by people with both visible and non-visible disabilities.
The sunflower lanyard can help users navigate environments such as airports more independently while providing a discreet way of communicating that they may need additional assistance, without requiring them to repeatedly explain their disability or their specific needs. UK government guidance explicitly recognises lanyards and badges as optional ways for people with non-visible disabilities to signal to airport staff that they may need additional support.
Although this initiative has been widely adopted in the United Kingdom, the sunflower lanyard does not necessarily carry the same meaning everywhere, including Spain and Latin America. Its recognition depends on whether the relevant organisation, institution, or community participates in or recognises the scheme. The initiative has, however, expanded internationally rather than remaining exclusively British. For example, airports and organisations in Ireland have adopted the Hidden Disabilities Sunflower scheme. (
This distinction is important because the meaning of an object is not inherent in its physical form. Meaning is produced socially and culturally. A design can be created to solve a specific problem within one social context and subsequently be adopted by other societies, but its meaning and effectiveness depend on whether those societies recognise and support it.
From a formal and functional perspective, the sunflower lanyard is a useful communication tool because it can signal that a person may need additional time, assistance, or understanding without requiring them to disclose a specific diagnosis. It therefore addresses a gap that is not necessarily addressed by the traditional International Symbol of Accessibility.
Anthropology, as a discipline, studies human beings, their behaviour, cultures, and social relationships. Anthropologists examine how people interact, communicate, organise their lives, and adapt to their environments. Through research, they can identify needs, behaviours, and expectations within specific social and cultural contexts.
Design, on the other hand, focuses on creating objects, services, systems, and experiences that respond to human needs. Designers seek to improve functionality, usability, efficiency, and, where relevant, aesthetics, so that products and services can better respond to the people who use them.
When design and anthropology work together, they can produce objects and solutions that respond more effectively to the needs of people within a particular context. Anthropologists can provide insight into social practices, behaviours, and needs, while designers can translate those insights into products, services, environments, and systems.
In this sense, combining design and anthropology can lead to a better understanding of human needs and to more effective and meaningful solutions. The sunflower lanyard is an interesting example because it was developed in response to a specific accessibility problem but has subsequently been adopted in different countries and contexts. Its history demonstrates that the meaning and effectiveness of an object are shaped not only by its design but also by the cultural and institutional context in which it is used.
Ultimately, accessibility should not be understood as a single visual symbol or a universal solution. Different disabilities create different barriers, and different people have different access needs. The challenge is therefore not simply to create more inclusive symbols, but to create environments, services, and systems that recognise the diversity of human experience.
It is important to continue moving towards genuine inclusion for people with all types of disabilities and to support initiatives that make everyday life more accessible, independent, and dignified.
The sunflower lanyard is an interesting example of how design can operate beyond the creation of a physical object. Its effectiveness depends on a larger system of communication involving the user, staff, institutions, and the social recognition of the symbol. The lanyard therefore functions not only as an object but also as an interface between an individual and an organisation.
From a design perspective, this raises an important question: are we designing objects, or are we designing relationships? A lanyard can only communicate a need if the person receiving that communication understands its meaning and knows how to respond. In this sense, accessibility is not only a question of physical design but also of service design, communication, organisational procedures, and social practices.
This is where design anthropology becomes particularly relevant. Rather than looking only at what people say they need, design anthropology examines how people actually live, behave, interact, and negotiate their environments. It allows designers to understand that a design solution does not exist in isolation: it becomes meaningful through the practices and cultural context in which it is used.
Design Anthropology asks us to move from designing objects for users to understanding and designing the relationships, systems, and cultural contexts in which those objects acquire meaning.
“The images are sourced either from the Hiring Disability website or from the Australian Netflix series Heartbreak High, which features an autistic character.
More to Discover
Design Anthropology
Invisible Disabilities and the Limits of Accessibility Symbols
DESIGN THEORY
Globally, one in seven people lives with a disability, and around 80% of disabilities are invisible, meaning they are not immediately apparent to others. These can include temporary, situational, or permanent disabilities, as well as neurological, cognitive, visual, auditory, and sensory conditions. They can also include respiratory conditions and chronic or rare health conditions such as asthma and diabetes. Each person with an invisible disability has individual access needs and faces different barriers in everyday life.
In recent years, there has been increasing representation of autistic characters in television series. This has helped bring greater visibility to invisible conditions and has also raised questions about whether the International Symbol of Accessibility is sufficiently inclusive of people with different types of disabilities.
The symbol, which is used to identify accessible areas and facilities, is traditionally represented by a blue square featuring a person using a wheelchair. However, in the United Kingdom, the use of a green lanyard featuring a sunflower has become a way of identifying people with non-visible disabilities who may require additional assistance. These disabilities can include autism, anxiety, depression, and a wide range of other conditions.
One of the problems that arises when some disabilities are classified as “physical” is the assumption that others are therefore “non-physical.” This distinction is misleading. Autism, for example, is a neurodevelopmental condition associated with differences in how the brain develops and functions.
When disabilities are perceived as “non-physical,” they can sometimes be regarded as less serious, and people experiencing them may be expected to simply “try harder.” Yet disability does not disappear because it is not immediately visible.
As Tenoch Huerta suggested in his discussion of “echaleganismo,” just as we would not ask a wheelchair user to walk faster, we should not ask an autistic person to simply “put up with” an environment that has not been designed with their needs in mind. It is not necessarily a lack of willingness or motivation to “get there.” It is important to consider individual access needs and the barriers faced by people with both visible and non-visible disabilities.
The sunflower lanyard can help users navigate environments such as airports more independently while providing a discreet way of communicating that they may need additional assistance, without requiring them to repeatedly explain their disability or their specific needs. UK government guidance explicitly recognises lanyards and badges as optional ways for people with non-visible disabilities to signal to airport staff that they may need additional support.
Although this initiative has been widely adopted in the United Kingdom, the sunflower lanyard does not necessarily carry the same meaning everywhere, including Spain and Latin America. Its recognition depends on whether the relevant organisation, institution, or community participates in or recognises the scheme. The initiative has, however, expanded internationally rather than remaining exclusively British. For example, airports and organisations in Ireland have adopted the Hidden Disabilities Sunflower scheme. (
This distinction is important because the meaning of an object is not inherent in its physical form. Meaning is produced socially and culturally. A design can be created to solve a specific problem within one social context and subsequently be adopted by other societies, but its meaning and effectiveness depend on whether those societies recognise and support it.
From a formal and functional perspective, the sunflower lanyard is a useful communication tool because it can signal that a person may need additional time, assistance, or understanding without requiring them to disclose a specific diagnosis. It therefore addresses a gap that is not necessarily addressed by the traditional International Symbol of Accessibility.
Anthropology, as a discipline, studies human beings, their behaviour, cultures, and social relationships. Anthropologists examine how people interact, communicate, organise their lives, and adapt to their environments. Through research, they can identify needs, behaviours, and expectations within specific social and cultural contexts.
Design, on the other hand, focuses on creating objects, services, systems, and experiences that respond to human needs. Designers seek to improve functionality, usability, efficiency, and, where relevant, aesthetics, so that products and services can better respond to the people who use them.
When design and anthropology work together, they can produce objects and solutions that respond more effectively to the needs of people within a particular context. Anthropologists can provide insight into social practices, behaviours, and needs, while designers can translate those insights into products, services, environments, and systems.
In this sense, combining design and anthropology can lead to a better understanding of human needs and to more effective and meaningful solutions. The sunflower lanyard is an interesting example because it was developed in response to a specific accessibility problem but has subsequently been adopted in different countries and contexts. Its history demonstrates that the meaning and effectiveness of an object are shaped not only by its design but also by the cultural and institutional context in which it is used.
Ultimately, accessibility should not be understood as a single visual symbol or a universal solution. Different disabilities create different barriers, and different people have different access needs. The challenge is therefore not simply to create more inclusive symbols, but to create environments, services, and systems that recognise the diversity of human experience.
It is important to continue moving towards genuine inclusion for people with all types of disabilities and to support initiatives that make everyday life more accessible, independent, and dignified.
The sunflower lanyard is an interesting example of how design can operate beyond the creation of a physical object. Its effectiveness depends on a larger system of communication involving the user, staff, institutions, and the social recognition of the symbol. The lanyard therefore functions not only as an object but also as an interface between an individual and an organisation.
From a design perspective, this raises an important question: are we designing objects, or are we designing relationships? A lanyard can only communicate a need if the person receiving that communication understands its meaning and knows how to respond. In this sense, accessibility is not only a question of physical design but also of service design, communication, organisational procedures, and social practices.
This is where design anthropology becomes particularly relevant. Rather than looking only at what people say they need, design anthropology examines how people actually live, behave, interact, and negotiate their environments. It allows designers to understand that a design solution does not exist in isolation: it becomes meaningful through the practices and cultural context in which it is used.
Design Anthropology asks us to move from designing objects for users to understanding and designing the relationships, systems, and cultural contexts in which those objects acquire meaning.
“The images are sourced either from the Hiring Disability website or from the Australian Netflix series Heartbreak High, which features an autistic character.