#37 - Brandon Biggs

Most digital maps are completely blank to blind and disabled people. Brandon Biggs is on a mission to change that before a major April 2027 accessibility deadline forces the issue. As the CEO of XR Navigation and an engineer at the Smith-Kettlewell Eye Research Institute, Brandon is building a future where maps are visual, audio, tactile, and interactive all at once—unlocking navigation and entire careers that have been closed off for decades. In this episode, Angus sits down with Brandon to explore why geographic maps remain one of the web's most overlooked barriers. Brandon shares what it's like to encounter a wildfire evacuation map that reads only as a "graphic clickable blank," explains why turn-by-turn directions can never replace a true map, and exposes how inaccessible data shuts blind professionals out of map-dependent careers. This is a powerful conversation about who gets to understand the world—and what happens when we design for everyone.