Inclusive Design in Practice: Panasonic’s Globally Recognized Initiatives

On the stage at the United Nations Office in Vienna on February 19, 2026, a woman was about to receive an award certificate.

It was Misaki Tanaka, who led the DEI Design Team at Panasonic Corporation’s Design Headquarters (at that time). She was standing there as a recipient of the Zero Project Award, a prestigious international award promoting the inclusion of people with disabilities.

The award recognized the Panasonic Group’s efforts in inclusive design—not just for individual products or services but for the framework itself, which produces useful results on an ongoing basis.

Out of 586 entries from 93 countries, 75 entries from 51 countries received awards. Only two Japanese companies received awards. This is a rare instance of systematic DEI practices by Japanese companies being recognized internationally. However, Tanaka does not view this award as the end goal. “We have a social responsibility to continue these efforts and ensure inclusive design practices take root within and beyond the Group.” Panasonic Newsroom Global spoke with Tanaka about the Group’s approach to inclusive design and the systems that support it.

Guided by the philosophy of “empathy-driven manufacturing,” the Panasonic Group has worked to help create a society where everyone can live more comfortably through the design of its products and services, and the Group has achieved numerous successes. For more than 20 years since 1990, the Group has been engaged in universal design. Building on this foundation, the Group has been practicing inclusive design in recent years. An important part of the methodology is to incorporate dialogue with stakeholders into the creation of products and services.

Universal design aims to create designs that can be used by as many people as possible, regardless of age, gender, or disability. “On the other hand, to meet the needs of more diverse stakeholders, it is important to adopt an inclusive design approach. This means incorporating the voices of people facing barriers into the process from the conceptual stage through to decision-making,” Tanaka explains.

The inclusive design approach emphasizes co-creation with stakeholders. It resonates with the phrase “Nothing about us without us,” which is widely recognized in the field of disability rights.

However, one-off activities such as seminars and workshops alone do not ensure the sustainability of the initiatives and practices within the organization. “The key is to create systems that make sure these initiatives are implemented Group-wide,” says Tanaka.

With that awareness, the Panasonic Group has established a cross-departmental framework to promote inclusive design. A key feature of this initiative is that it extends beyond specific projects to encompass systems, human resources, and practical implementation.

“At the Panasonic Group, we don’t limit our inclusive design initiatives to a few volunteer-led efforts. Instead, we have formalized them into guidelines and tools,” Tanaka explains. “Furthermore, by continuously conducting seminars and training sessions that utilize these resources, we aim to embed this knowledge throughout the Group so it can be put into practice on the front lines.”

In February 2025, the Group revised its internal regulations on universal design in its “Operational Rules for Inclusive Design and Universal Design.”

By fiscal year 2026*, a total of more than 1,207 employees had participated in training conducted by the DEI Design Team, gaining insights to drive inclusive design projects alongside stakeholders in actual product and service development. The results of these ongoing training efforts are beginning to show in the numbers: the number of inclusive design projects undertaken by the DEI Design Team has increased year by year, from 5 in fiscal year 2024 to 12 in fiscal year 2025 and to 17 in fiscal year 2026.

*In this article, fiscal years end on March 31 of the stated year.

Based on these expanding efforts, the company was recognized for incorporating inclusive design as a system throughout its corporate activities and practicing it in a sustainable manner. This led to receiving the Zero Project Award.

Incorporating the voices of those directly affected is a fundamental principle of inclusive design. However, in practice, it often amounts to little more than a perfunctory consultation. Considering that approach to be insufficient, Tanaka and the DEI Design Team redefined the methodology of inclusive design as “dialogue” and integrated it into the entire product development process.

“Invisible disabilities, such as autism spectrum disorder and ADHD, are difficult to discern from outward appearances. Symptoms vary greatly from person to person as well.” Tanaka emphasizes the significance of dialogue, stating, “That is precisely why dialogue with those directly affected is essential. We need to think through and identify their real challenges together.”

So, how is this dialogue put into practice?

First, we engage in dialogue with a diverse range of stakeholders during the conceptualization phase of a product or service to gain insights into the challenges that need to be addressed. Next, by continuing to engage in dialogue with these stakeholders, we refine our solutions to meet those challenges. Finally, we work with the stakeholders to verify whether the issues have been truly resolved.

We define this process that allows more substantive discussions for decision-making in the development of products and services as “criteria for achievement.” We recognize initiatives that meet these criteria as inclusive design.

“At first, some people said, ‘The market for products targeting minorities is too small.’ However, when we explained our approach using the ‘Persona Spectrum Tool’ which we created to help visualize the situations of diverse people, they came to understand that meeting diverse needs actually leads to market expansion,” Tanaka recalls of the early days of the initiatives.

Internal training programs are driving this shift in mindset within the Group. Whereas traditional universal design training focused primarily on classroom-based instruction, inclusive design training invites individuals from both inside and outside the Group who have faced various challenges due to their diverse life experiences and values. Participants learn by directly addressing these real-world issues with people who have disabilities, older adults, sexual and gender minorities, single parents, and parents raising children.

“We receive requests repeatedly to conduct training programs for management trainees and new employees in the technical departments of our various operating companies,” Tanaka explains, describing the role of in-house training. “For those in positions responsible for developing products and services, these programs serve as a crucial opportunity to gain a firsthand understanding of the fact that we have a diverse customer base.”

What specific new outcomes have these initiatives led to?

One example is 3D-printed Attachment Chips, which can be affixed to the control panels of home appliances to make the positions and types of buttons easier to identify.

Tanaka and the DEI Design Team developed the Attachment Chips, spending more than a year in collaboration with stakeholders, including people with visual impairments, older adults, and parents raising children. Through repeated prototyping, the team adjusted the height and shape of the markings on the chip’s surface, verifying one by one whether the differences between buttons could be distinguished by touch alone.

This assistance tool won the Gold Award at the IAUD International Design Award 2025, organized by the International Association for Universal Design (IAUD). It was recognized for its potential to enrich the lives of a diverse range of users.

What sets it apart is that, rather than selling the product itself, the company has made the 3D printing data available for free. The initiative was also praised as an example of open knowledge—sharing in a way that anyone can use it, rather than hoarding in-house expertise.

The published data can be resized to fit a wide range of home appliances, regardless of the manufacturer.

“By entering the dimensions, you can print chips sized to fit each device,” Tanaka explains. “Going forward, we are also looking into using a bitter material to prevent accidental swallowing by children.”

In addition to these products for external users, the team also undertakes projects responding to requests from other operating companies and departments within the Group.

One example is the Communication Support Cards. These are tools designed to help employees with invisible disabilities, such as mental or developmental disorders, communicate their particular challenges to those around them more easily.

For example, if an employee with hyperfocus—a trait commonly associated with certain developmental differences—arrives late to a meeting, this may be perceived as a behavioral issue that calls for attention, unless the challenge is already known within the workplace. A Communication Support Card can help an employee discreetly share the trait with colleagues, enabling the company to respond with greater understanding and awareness.

Tanaka said that she has actually had employees present cards to her, which made her realize that the practice is gaining traction within the Group. “By conducting repeated trials of inclusive design through internal projects like this,” she said, “I believe we’ve demonstrated that our framework and dialogue initiatives can function in a sustainable and repeatable manner.”

At a three-day conference held in conjunction with the Zero Project Award ceremony in February 2026, Tanaka participated in a panel discussion session on the theme of “Accessibility by Design: Corporate Models Driving Inclusion.” Representatives from other award-winning companies also participated in the session, sharing the initiatives of their multinational corporations.

Tanaka was surprised by the fact that many of the conference attendees were people with disabilities themselves, and quite a few of them held positions involved in corporate decision-making. “I was deeply moved to see that inclusion was not treated as something special, but had become the norm,” Tanaka recalls.

Following the release of inclusive design tools and the receipt of several awards, Tanaka’s team started getting inquiries about inclusive design know-how from more and more companies. In some cases, that led to offering seminars. Tanaka aims to support this expansion in ways that align with Japanese corporate culture and business environments.

At the same time, she notes that the Group must further advance its implementation in its own products and services to spread inclusive design in society. “The Panasonic Group is, at its core, a manufacturing company,” she says enthusiastically. “We want to strengthen cross-company collaboration within the Group and promote inclusive design through our business operations.”

Having received international recognition, the Panasonic Group is committed to taking on a leadership role in promoting inclusive design within and beyond the Group. We will continue to engage in dialogue with stakeholders from diverse backgrounds to contribute to the creation of a better society through inclusive design.