During the course „Empathic equality“ the students started focusing on the connection between design and people in challenging situations. The main keywords during the design process were „empathic design“, „equality“ and „ethics“.

The project „Eblo“ from the students Lucia Keller, Sabhín O’Sullivan, and Marina Almanstötter is an example of how design can create connections and a better understanding between society and minorities.

In this project the team worked together with people with disabilities to figure out the differences and hurdles, they face in their daily life, compared to people without disabilities.

Through research, body-storming, surveys, and interviews the designers gained knowledge about the goals, wishes, and needs of people with disabilities. They developed a playkit, called Eblo, which encourages empathy and understanding of disabilities in primary school kids through storytelling and role-playing activities.

The name „Eblo“ means possibility, and the playkit includes a comic book with a fictional story about young characters, with and without disability, which faces some hurdles they overcome together.

Action cards give children the opportunity to experience challenges the characters in the story face, through role-play activities which are based on real-life difficulties of people with disabilities.

Figurines and Popup books make the fictional world of „Eblo“ even more tangible for children and let them dive into it.