Four groups, and what reaches each of them
Audio alone is not an access solution, because it excludes deaf visitors. Text alone is not one either, because it excludes the people print already failed. Publishing both together is what makes the claim complete.
Reached by: Translation, in text and audio
Visitors who do not read the local language
A visitor can be standing in front of an object they find fascinating and get nothing from the label beside it. Translated interpretation lets them explore independently rather than relying on a companion to summarise the walls for them.
Reached by: Audio
Visitors with low vision
Small type, low contrast and poor gallery lighting make a lot of interpretation unusable long before someone would describe themselves as visually impaired. Audio removes the need to read it at all, and the visitor controls the volume and pace on their own phone.
Reached by: Audio
Visitors who find reading difficult
This is the largest group and the one most often left out of an access plan. It includes dyslexic visitors, visitors reading in a second language, older visitors, children, and anyone tired enough that a long panel stops being worth the effort.
Reached by: Text
Visitors who are deaf or hard of hearing
This is the group an audio guide normally excludes. Because every Journey Pal stop carries the written text alongside the audio, the same content is available without sound, and no separate transcript has to be produced or maintained.
Nobody has to ask
The usual model for accessible formats is that a visitor asks for one. A large print sheet behind the desk, a folder of translations, a member of staff who can help if you find them. It works, and it asks people to identify themselves as needing something different before they have even started looking at anything.
Scanning a code beside an exhibit is the same action every visitor takes. The person who needs the audio and the person who is just curious do the identical thing, and nobody has to announce which they are.
What this does not solve
Journey Pal addresses access to interpretation. It does nothing about step-free entry, lift access, seating, accessible toilets, hearing loops at a front desk, quiet hours, or staff training. Those are usually the more expensive and more important half of an access plan.
It is also worth saying that a supplier who tells you their product makes your museum accessible is overselling. Interpretation is one part of it, and this is one way of doing that part well.
A practical checklist
- Publish the text and the audio together, so no visitor has to ask for an alternative format
- Mount QR codes at a height that can be scanned comfortably from a wheelchair
- Check code size and contrast under real gallery lighting rather than on a desk
- Say the guide exists on the printed sign, in the languages you have published
- Do not rely on colour alone to signal that a guide is available
- Keep object names, safety notices and wayfinding printed, for anyone without a working phone
- Offer the guide in the local language too, not only as translation for overseas visitors
Go deeper
Frequently asked questions
How do audio guides help visitors with disabilities?
Audio removes the need to read small print in difficult lighting, which helps visitors with low vision and visitors who find reading hard for any reason. Because Journey Pal shows the written text alongside the audio, deaf and hard of hearing visitors get the same content without needing sound.
Do Journey Pal guides include transcripts?
The text is not a separate transcript, it is the source. Every stop is written as text and the audio is generated from it, so the two can never drift apart and there is no extra file for staff to maintain.
Does this make our museum accessible?
It addresses one part of it. Journey Pal helps with access to interpretation and information. It does nothing about step-free entry, seating, hearing loops at a front desk, or staff training, and any supplier who tells you their product makes a museum accessible is overselling.
Do visitors need to install anything or ask staff for help?
No, and that matters more than it sounds. Asking for an accessible version at a front desk singles people out. Scanning a code beside the exhibit is the same action every visitor takes.
Is accessibility a separate budget from interpretation?
At many venues, yes. Access improvements often have their own funding and reporting where interpretation does not, which can make the same project easier to approve when it is framed as access.
Working on an access plan?
Interpretation is usually the cheapest part of one to improve, and the part that reaches the most visitors per pound spent. Happy to talk through what it would take at your venue.