Living without letters – Experience Inclusion Beyond Text

What happens when everyday life suddenly depends on skills you cannot use? Living Without Letters is an award-winning research-through-design project and interactive board game developed within a Master Design research trajectory on digital and social inclusion in Rotterdam.

Designed for people who can read and write, the game offers an experiential glimpse into the everyday barriers faced by people with low literacy. Through audio, visuals, teamwork and playful challenges, players navigate housing, work, healthcare and public services—without relying on written text.

Rather than focusing on individual limitations, the research explores a bigger question: What if exclusion is not caused by people, but by systems designed around text as the default?

The game brings together experience experts, educators, social organisations and policymakers to spark empathy, dialogue and new ways of designing more inclusive communication, services and public systems.

Come play, reflect and discover what changes when we design with people, not just for them.