When I first wrote this post on how to create helpful visual descriptions for visually impaired audiences in November 2021, I spent a lot of time trying to figure out not just how to describe what people look like, but what people should include when describing themselves or why these descriptions are helpful for people with visual impairments to begin with.
I quickly realized that my personal experience with low vision was a significant source of bias, as I would often look to visual descriptions to provide more context or clarification about someone or something I was looking at, and that I celebrated visual descriptions becoming more “popular” because they answered questions that I often felt out of place asking about, but would have to ask anyway when trying to find someone at a conference or learning to recognize different students in my classes.
As I edit and revise this post in 2025, I’ve created an updated and more inclusive list of ideas of what to include when you’re trying to figure out what to include in a visual description, or wondering how to describe yourself to someone who is blind/someone who has low vision/someone who is visually impaired. Think of this post not as a checklist, but as a guide or starting point for learning how to create visual descriptions and figuring out what information to include in different contexts.
What is a visual description?
In this context, a visual description is a strategy for people to share information about what they look like to an audience that might not be able to see them. Visual descriptions are commonly used in settings like conferences, presentations, or schools so that people can share what they look like in their own words, which can help to eliminate unconscious bias or help with identifying others at a later time. Visual descriptions are specifically beneficial for people with visual impairments, inclusive of blind, low vision, and neurological visual impairment (CVI).
Related links
Why are visual descriptions helpful?
As someone with low vision, I often have trouble seeing what people look like, or might confuse people with similar names or voices that otherwise don’t look anything alike. Even though I still have usable vision, it’s helpful when people describe themselves in their own words so I can be confident that I identified them correctly, or I can share this description with a human guide who can help me find the person later on at an event. I’ve noticed that I am biased towards wanting detailed descriptions because I can easily sift through them and figure out the details that are important to me— I’d rather know too much about something than too little.
Unless otherwise indicated at an event, providing a visual description is a completely voluntary experience. I personally don’t mind if someone doesn’t share a visual description of themselves, but it may make it harder for me to recognize them at a later time. Some individuals with visual impairments dislike visual descriptions or see them as part of a broader social agenda or political agenda, but others rely on them as an essential access tool for navigating highly visual environments or as being helpful in social contexts. Because they can be essential for many individuals with visual impairments, I recommend including brief descriptions when possible.
Related links
- How To Approach Someone with Low Vision Without Scaring Them
- Tips For Using A Human Guide At A Conference
- Ten “Odd” Things I Do With Double Vision
- How I Talk About Disability With New Friends
Where to include visual descriptions
So, where do people share visual descriptions? It depends on the context, but I have shared my own visual descriptions and accessed visual descriptions shared by others using the following options:
- Include a visual description as part of an introduction. When giving a presentation, starting a meeting, or when starting an appointment, it can be helpful for individuals to share their name, a short visual description, and then continue with the rest of their speech/conversation.
- Add a visual description to an image caption. When I shared a photo as part of a presentation, I added a visual description of what the subject looked like as part of the caption/image description, and read this out loud during the presentation.
- Sharing visual descriptions in a program or guide. At an event, there was a short program with a list of names along with a visual description of what each person looked like. I found this really helpful when there were several people with similar names, and I knew that I would be starting my day by talking to someone with red hair.
- Include it in a video or audio description. At the beginning of recorded or live video, individuals can share a description of what they look like, or mention visual descriptions as part of audio description or video descriptions that describe visual information to those who may not be able to see it.
When I interact with students that have cortical visual impairment/cerebral visual impairment (CVI) that might not recognize my voice, I give them a visual description of what I look like since CVI can cause visual distortions that go beyond just blurry vision. I don’t necessarily expect students with CVI to recognize me visually (I still approach them and make sure to identify myself, e.g. “hi student, this is Veronica), but some students do use things like my hairstyle or clothes to figure out what I look like.
Related links
- Recording Video Lectures For Visually Impaired Students
- How To Describe Primary Source Videos For Visually Impaired Audiences
- How To Write Video Descriptions For TikTok
Examples of characteristics to mention in a visual description
For a lot of people, it can be uncomfortable to figure out how to describe what they look like in a visual description for someone who is visually impaired, or they might be tempted to fixate on specific characteristics. I approach my guidelines for visual descriptions from the perspective of body neutrality and with the purpose of helping individuals with visual impairments identify what someone looks like. Examples of characteristics that can be helpful to mention in a visual description include:
- Hairstyle and hair color
- Race/ethnicity
- Age or age range (optional)
- Gender and/or pronouns
- Clothing description
- Any additional distinctive accessories, like glasses or large jewelry
- Mobility aids, such as a guide dog, wheelchair, blindness cane, hearing aids, etc
Some people may choose to avoid disclosing their mobility aids or mentioning that they have a disability, but this can go a long way with addressing unconscious bias and it is common to include this information in accessibility contexts. I’ve also encountered some visual descriptions that mention gender and pronouns together, which can be helpful when identifying people with similar sounding or gender neutral names.
Related links
- How To Write Alt Text For Casual Outfits
- How To Create Image Descriptions For Red Carpet Looks
- Writing Media Descriptions For Current Events: My Talk At Protest Access-A-Thon
Characteristics to reconsider mentioning in visual descriptions
This section is challenging for me to write, because I don’t want to encourage people to hide themselves or things about themselves, or to feel pressured to disclose things they are uncomfortable with sharing. Some visual descriptions can be overly detailed or contain information that isn’t particularly helpful to the audience or the context where the description is being shared. Characteristics to avoid or reconsider mentioning in visual descriptions can include:
- Comments related to attractiveness, or commentary on appearance, like “I am ugly” or “I am an attractive person”
- Eye color— not particularly helpful here, since the other audience members would not be able to see this.
- Body measurements and clothing sizes
- Small visual details such as a zit or self-critical comments
- Information about clothing brands, unless it is a distinctive style— for example, the word Crocs can be used to describe shoes made by the brand, but there’s no need to mention that a sweater came from Target
- Any visual details that would not be obvious or visible to sighted audience members.
- Making the description longer than about 15-30 seconds
I listed body measurements and clothing sizes as something to reconsider including because these can trigger feelings of body dysmorphia and individuals may not necessarily feel comfortable sharing this information with an audience. I consider weight a neutral characteristic and do not include my own size in descriptions, but have met several people who self-identified themselves as being fat in their visual descriptions and felt this information was important to include.
Related links
Some examples of visual descriptions targeted at visually impaired audiences
Here are some examples of visual descriptions that can be helpful for visually impaired audiences. I have included a description of what I look like, and then reprinted some visual descriptions from other readers with permission.
- I’m a 28-year-old white woman with short, chin-length light brown hair, and I wear purple-framed glasses with tinted lenses. I smile a lot while I talk, and if I was in the room with you right now, I’d probably have my purple and white cane folded up behind me.
- I am a Filipino man with short black hair, and am wearing sunglasses along with a black shirt, blue jeans, and black dress shoes. My guide dog Lola is a German Shepherd and is currently sitting under the table for the presentation.
- I have olive skin with curly brown hair that is in a ponytail. I am wearing a black suit with a purple tie, and have gauged ears with purple earrings, as well as a nose piercing. I use he/him pronouns and I’m 21 years old.
- I am a Black woman in her mid 30s with long blonde and black locs that go down my back. I am wearing a t-shirt that says “Accessibility Matters” along with black skinny jeans, and purple Converse high-tops. The frames of my glasses are round and bright red!
- I’m a mixed teenager (Japanese/white) and I really like androgynous fashion— I use they/them pronouns. I am wearing a blue button-down top and have shoulder length wavy black hair with a purple stripe towards the front. I’m wearing multiple silver rings on each of my hands, which help with joint issues from EDS and make noise when I place my hands on the table.
- I’m one of the other undergraduates at the university. I’m a white dude with super curly brown hair and I wear black framed glasses. I have a short beard and am wearing a black polo shirt, and I have colorful tattoos across both of my arms.
It helps to know that many of the people presenting were standing in front of an audience, which is why they mentioned things like shoes. Others were sitting behind a desk or only visible from the shoulders up. When I give my own visual descriptions, I typically use the script I mentioned as a starting point and will add a short description of any visible clothes or jewelry as well.
More resources on how to create helpful visual descriptions for visually impaired audiences
- Want to describe something that isn’t a person? Read How To Write Alt Text and Image Descriptions for the Visually Impaired
- Here’s a really great video from Haben Girma about visual descriptions: I’m not white. Honest! Blind people and visual accessibility.
- Want an example of me giving a visual description during a talk? Check out Writing Media Descriptions For Current Events: My Talk At Protest Access-A-Thon
Published November 8, 2021. Updated February 2025