At IC Works, we work with organisations that care about accessibility. More often than not, those organisations have already made real efforts — step-free entrances, ramps, handrails, accessible toilets, and clear routes through public spaces. The physical side of accessibility is on the agenda. And rightly so.

We recently read the brilliant Design in Government blog post “Easy read is hard to get right”, and we honestly couldn’t agree more.

Most of us don’t think twice about reading. We skim news articles, check emails, and follow instructions without struggling.

But for millions of people, reading is exhausting, frustrating, or downright impossible.

When it comes to Easy Read materials, what kind of images make the biggest difference?

According to Shaun Webster MBE, a member of our Experts by Experience panel at IC Works, the answer is clear:

“I really like photos best because they show real things and real people. They are much easier for people with a learning disability like me to understand than a drawing.”

If AI ever woke up in a cold sweat from a bad dream, it’d be over Easy Read pictures. Seriously, if you think AI-generated transcription has its limitations, wait until you try to get it to handle imagery. What looks like a promising tool at first glance quickly becomes a maddening exercise in frustration—and sometimes outright hilarity.