Making Animation More Inclusive: Deafblind Awareness
- mike26716
- Jun 23
- 2 min read
Deafblindness is a combination of sight and hearing loss. It affects communication and access to information in unique ways, and for many people it also means finding alternative ways to engage with media
Why This Matters
Animation is often thought of as purely visual, but it doesn’t have to be.
With thoughtful design, sound design, movement, tactile tools, vibration feedback, description and more, animation can become more inclusive for a broader range of audiences.
A Few Projects Doing It Well
A Preschool animation series featuring a blind protagonist, Melody uses carefully designed music, narration, and simplified visuals, making it more accessible to children with visual impairments.
This Irish animated series follows a blind girl and her dog, using distinct sound and visual cues, gentle pacing and audience appropriate content. A great example of animation for younger audience.
Scored in Silence (Chisato Minamimura)
A multimedia performance combining projected animation, sign language and wearable vibrations, it showcases how animated visuals can be paired with tactile and physical feedback to create meaningful access for deafblind audiences.
What We’re Thinking About
As a studio, we’re asking questions like:
How can we make animated content more understandable without relying on visuals alone?
Can we design sound in a way that works with screen readers or haptic feedback?
Are our stories inclusive of character and perspectives from the deafblind community?
We’re not claiming to have all the answers, but we’re committed to learning, adapting, and collaborating where we can.
Where to learn More
These organisations offer great resources and advocacy:
Sense UK
Helen Keller Services
World Federation of the Deafblind
If you’re a deafblind artist, advocate, accessibility consultant, or just someone interested in more inclusive animation, we’re always open to conversations and collaboration.
