The Margins Matter: Design Lessons from Jesus’ Attention to the Edges
- Jarrett Michael
- Sep 28
- 3 min read
In the Gospels, Jesus consistently moves toward the margins.
He touches lepers, dines with tax collectors, listens to women in a patriarchal world, and centers the voices of the overlooked and the outcast. Again and again, he disrupts the crowd’s attention and redirects it to the people they forgot. In doing so, he reveals a divine design priority: those at the edges are never optional.
What if that same principle guided the way we design?
Designing Like Jesus
Designing for the center—for the typical user, the expected needs, the familiar majority—can feel natural. But when that becomes our only lens, we overlook those who don’t fit neatly into that mold: people with disabilities, different cultural or linguistic backgrounds, neurodivergent users, or those with limited access to technology or literacy.
Jesus doesn’t just notice the marginalized—he prioritizes them. He heals on the Sabbath not because it’s efficient, but because it’s right. He doesn’t ignore the powerful, but he consistently aligns himself with the blind beggars, the overlooked, and the excluded—because they matter.
Inclusive Design Is Gospel-Aligned
Inclusive design is often dismissed as a buzzword or reduced to a compliance checklist—but at its core, it’s a theological posture.
It asks:
Who have we not considered?
Who is left out by default?
What assumptions are baked into this experience?
And more importantly:
How can we make room for them—not as an afterthought, but as a first move?
Jesus didn’t tack on the marginalized to the end of his mission. They were central to it.
Likewise, accessible, inclusive design isn’t something we "add later." It's something we start with, because people on the edges teach us how to build better for everyone.
Accessibility Is Compassion in Practice
Good design removes barriers. It makes life easier, more beautiful, and more usable. But Jesus shows us that compassion isn’t just a feeling—it’s action.
Accessibility is compassion made tangible through design. It appears in clean code and thoughtful UX workflows, in readable contrast ratios and supportive screen reader tools. It's reflected in the words we choose—and in the decision not to assume everyone experiences the world the same way.
If we claim to design with love or purpose, but neglect accessibility, we’ve missed the heart of it.
The Edges Reveal What Matters
Designing with the margins in mind doesn’t dilute your work. It refines it. Just as Jesus revealed the values of the Kingdom through the lives of those least seen, our design decisions reveal what we truly value.
When you take the time to make a product intuitive for someone with motor impairments, or welcoming for a non-native speaker, or readable for someone with visual differences, you’re not just checking boxes—you’re echoing the radical empathy of Christ.
And that changes everything.
Questions for Designers
Who is this design currently excluding—intentionally or unintentionally?
What would it look like to begin with the person on the edge, not the person in the center?
Are we building tools that dignify, or ones that dismiss?
Does our design process reflect a belief in the inherent worth of every person?
Jesus paid attention to the people others overlooked. He healed, included, dignified, and uplifted the ones the crowd passed by. That wasn’t a side note. It was the design of the Kingdom itself.
So whether you’re building an app, a brand, a service, or a community—remember: The margins matter.
And when we design for the edges, everyone is brought closer to the center.
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