How inclusive design strengthens transparency in crisis communication

By Matisse Hamel-Nelis, ADS, CPACC

“Trust doesn’t only come from facts and data. It comes from clarity.” Accessible communications and marketing expert, Matisse Hamel-Nelis offers tips on how to create crisis communications that reaches all audiences.

In times of crisis, trust is everything.

People turn to organizations looking for answers, reassurance and honesty. But transparency doesn’t just come from what you say, it comes from how you say it, who can access it, and whether your message reaches the people who need it most.

That’s where inclusive design comes in.

Inclusive design is more than accessibility checklists or adding captions to a video. It’s about designing communication with the full diversity of people in mind, right from the beginning. It asks, “Who might be excluded from this message, and how can we fix that before it happens?”

For PR practitioners and professional communicators, especially during a crisis, inclusive design isn’t a “nice to have.” It’s a critical part of being transparent, building trust and doing our jobs ethically and effectively.

So, let’s look into how inclusive design can make your crisis communication feel more real, more honest and a lot more people-focused.

Inclusive design helps your message reach more people

During a crisis, your audience grows. Suddenly, it’s not just your regular customers or stakeholders. It’s their families, communities, and networks. The stakes are high, and the need for clear, wide-reaching communication is urgent.

Inclusive design helps make sure your message is not just available, but actually usable by more people. That includes people who:

• Are blind or have low vision
• Are D/deaf or hard of hearing
• Have cognitive disabilities or mental health conditions
• Don’t speak English as a first language
• Are using assistive technology
• Are overwhelmed or stressed and need simple, clear language

If your message is only readable in a flashy PDF, buried in a graphic with no alt-text, or delivered only through a video with no captions, you’re not reaching everyone. And in a crisis, that’s a risk you can’t afford to take.

We saw this happen during the Rogers Communications outage in 2022. While millions of people across Canada were without phone and internet service, Rogers posted important updates online, but many of those updates were shared as images with no alt-text. That meant anyone using a screen reader could not access the information. The key details about the outage were locked inside pictures that not everyone could read.

In a moment when people needed clear, fast communication the most, a basic lack of inclusive design left part of the public confused, frustrated, and even more isolated. It sent the wrong message: that not everyone mattered equally.

When a crisis hits, accessibility is not an extra step. It’s part of making sure the right information gets to the right people, at the right time.

It reduces confusion, and confusion creates mistrust

People rely on communications professionals to give them information they can trust. But trust doesn’t only come from facts and data. It comes from clarity.

Inclusive design supports clarity by removing barriers to understanding. This means using plain language, designing for different literacy levels, and testing your content with real users. It means avoiding jargon and legal speak when people need straightforward information fast.

When messages are designed inclusively, fewer people are left wondering what something means or whether it applies to them. They’re not second-guessing. They’re not going to social media for unofficial answers. They can trust what you’ve told them, and that trust builds loyalty.

It builds credibility by showing that you planned ahead

One of the biggest credibility killers in crisis communication is scrambling. When organizations look unprepared or inconsistent, it makes people nervous. It raises questions like, “What else aren’t they thinking about?”

Inclusive design helps you avoid this by forcing you to think about more than just your usual audience. It builds better habits around planning and foresight.

For example:

• Are your emergency alerts screen reader compatible?
• Do your public statements use inclusive language that avoids ableism or cultural bias?
• Do you have visual alternatives to audio messages, and vice versa?
• Have you tested your communication formats under stress?

When you’ve already built inclusive design into your workflows, it shows. And in a crisis, that kind of preparation earns trust fast.

It makes your team more accountable

Transparency isn’t just about what you say to the public; it’s also about how your team communicates behind the scenes. When you practise inclusive design, you’re more likely to build internal systems that encourage accessibility, equity and accountability.

For example, if your internal crisis plans are only available in complex slide decks or long, dense documents, you may be excluding team members who process information differently. If your emergency procedures haven’t been shared in multiple formats, you’re risking confusion when it matters most.

Inclusive design forces teams to slow down and ask better questions:

• Who’s missing from this conversation?
• Who hasn’t been consulted?
• Who might be impacted in ways we haven’t thought about?

Those questions lead to better, more responsible decisions, which makes your external communication more honest and well-informed.

It reflects your values, especially when it matters most

Crises are defining moments. They reveal what an organization truly stands for. That’s why values-based communication is so important, and so scrutinized.

If your organization says it values inclusion, but your crisis messages are inaccessible or confusing, people will notice. They’ll see a gap between what you say and what you do. And that gap can cost you both trust and reputation.

Inclusive design is a way to live your values, not just talk about them. It tells your audience, “We thought about you. We planned for this. And we care about making sure you feel informed and included.”

That kind of integrity is hard to fake, and easy to see.

Getting started: Small shifts with big impact

If you’re new to inclusive design, don’t worry. You don’t have to be perfect to start making things better. Here are a few simple actions you can take right now:

• Write your next crisis message in plain language. Then read it out loud. If it sounds too formal or complex, simplify it.
• Add alt-text to every image or graphic you post during a crisis.
• Use high-contrast colours and legible fonts in emergency updates.
• Include captions and transcripts for all video and audio content.
• Make sure your critical communications are mobile-friendly and keyboard-navigable.
• Test your messages with a diverse group of users or stakeholders before you send them.

You don’t have to overhaul everything overnight. But you do have to care enough to try.

All of this to say…

At its heart, crisis communication is about connection. It’s about people helping people. It’s about providing clarity in chaos, honesty in uncertainty, and care in every message.

Inclusive design strengthens all of that.

It makes your message clearer, your reach wider and your work more trusted. It turns your values into action and your plans into practice. And it shows your audience that you’re not just reacting; you’re leading with intention.

Because when the pressure is on, and the world is watching, people remember how you made them feel. And when they feel seen, heard and respected, they remember that too.

Author’s note: AI (Grammarly) was used to assist with checking spelling and grammar.