Fatemeh Aminpour
Researcher & Sessional Academic
UNSW Sydney
The city as interface: What neurodivergent experiences can teach us about designing for every mind
Friday, 28 August · UX Australia track
The city as interface: What neurodivergent experiences can teach us about designing for every mind
What does a cluttered footpath have in common with a confusing navigation menu? Drawing on in-depth walking interviews with neurodivergent adults navigating Sydney's public spaces, this keynote reframes neuroinclusion as a design systems challenge. The talk explores how predictability, sensory clarity, legibility and opportunities for recovery shape people's ability to participate in everyday life, and what these experiences can teach us about designing more inclusive environments, interfaces and systems for every mind.
Fatemeh Aminpour
Dr Fatemeh Aminpour is an environment–behaviour researcher and design practitioner whose work sits at the intersection of architecture, urban design and lived experience. She is one of Australia's leading voices on neuroinclusive design in public space, and lead author of Towards Neuroinclusive Public Open Spaces (UNSW City Futures, 2026), one of the first Australian studies to systematically examine how neurodivergent people experience and navigate urban environments. Fatemeh is a researcher and sessional academic at the University of Sydney and UNSW, and an Associate of the UNSW Disability Innovation Institute and the Australian Human Rights Institute.