Designing for Parents and Educators of Visually Impaired Children
What?
As part of a design class at Olin College, I led a team of five design students who designed a product intended to help people who work with visually impaired children. Our final product idea was vision-simulating goggles that allow parents, educators, and others to better understand a child's unique vision.
Why?
Parents and educators of visually impaired children have a tough job. One of our interviewees, pictured teaching a class at the Perkins School for the Blind where Helen Keller once studied, allowed us to sit in on a class to see just how individualized their education must be. Only a small percent of "blind" children are completely blind, and the rest have very different visual impairments.
How?
We interviewed over 15 different people who have worked with visually impaired children, compiling their experiences to form a few distinct personas. We then explored the values and needs of these personas, ideated, and refined our preliminary ideas with our interviewees. Our final product was an idea that appealed to many of our interviewees, and the list of requirements that make up our final design can be read here.
As part of a design class at Olin College, I led a team of five design students who designed a product intended to help people who work with visually impaired children. Our final product idea was vision-simulating goggles that allow parents, educators, and others to better understand a child's unique vision.
Why?
Parents and educators of visually impaired children have a tough job. One of our interviewees, pictured teaching a class at the Perkins School for the Blind where Helen Keller once studied, allowed us to sit in on a class to see just how individualized their education must be. Only a small percent of "blind" children are completely blind, and the rest have very different visual impairments.
How?
We interviewed over 15 different people who have worked with visually impaired children, compiling their experiences to form a few distinct personas. We then explored the values and needs of these personas, ideated, and refined our preliminary ideas with our interviewees. Our final product was an idea that appealed to many of our interviewees, and the list of requirements that make up our final design can be read here.
