Ickevisuella

Ickevisuella is a Swedish term used to describe phenomena, information, or design elements that do not primarily involve the sense of sight. The word comes from the prefix icke- meaning not or non, and visuella meaning visual. In Swedish-language discourse, the term is used across fields such as psychology, media studies, human-computer interaction, and accessibility to distinguish non-visual modalities from visual ones.

Scope and modalities include the sensory channels and methods that do not rely on vision. These encompass auditory (hearing), tactile (touch), olfactory (smell), gustatory (taste), as well as proprioceptive and vestibular senses and interoception. In information design and communication, ickevisuella channels include audio content, spoken descriptions, radio and podcasts, audio books, tactile graphics, Braille, and haptic feedback. Techniques such as sonification turn data into sound to convey information without visual cues.

Applications of ickevisuella thinking appear in accessibility, education, media, and product design. Examples include screen readers and audio descriptions that make digital content accessible to blind or visually impaired users, audio guides in museums, tactile graphics for printed materials, Braille displays, and tactile or haptic interfaces in devices. In research and practice, ickevisuella design emphasizes multimodal or non-visual presentation to support diverse user needs and preferences, while aiming to avoid sensory overload or exclusion.

Related concepts include non-visual communication, multisensory design, accessibility, audio description, Braille, and haptic interfaces.