Hi. This project sets the stage for my commitment to inclusive design. Inspired by personal experiences, it delves into the world of visually impaired children, emphasizing the importance of equal opportunities in play. This two-player sound-matching game bridges the gap between visually impaired and sighted children, fostering not just play but social interaction crucial for childhood development. The project encapsulates my dedication to addressing real-world, meaningful challenges through design.
<aside> 💡 This is a comprehensive description of the project - estimated reading time of 15 minutes.
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<aside> 💡 For the quick 5 minute summary of the project, click here: Design for the Visually Impaired
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Play is undoubtably a human right. Play should be accessible to everybody. It is widely recognized as the fundamental activity for the overall development of every child.
Play drives a major role in the acquisition of cognitive, socio-psychological, and relational skills, as it is an “innate ‘engine’ for curiosity, challenge, motivation towards action, and social relationships.”[1] This is no different for visually impaired children. In fact play, especially peer play, has an even more crucial role for the development of visually impaired children – being deprived from play can result in distancing between the visually impaired and the sighted, leading to loneliness, depression, and further prolonging of the acquirement of essential skills and abilities.
This is precisely the reason why making sure that children with visual impairment have a chance to participate in play with their peers is so essential to their childhood. So, I set out to create a game that would enable both visually impaired and sighted children to have equal chances of strategizing and winning.
Designing for the visually impaired or blind comes with a set of considerations a designer needs to understand before engaging in the topic. There is a set of known measures that a designer can chooses follow when aiming to make play resources more accessible to blind children.
However, there is a fundamental concept to keep in mind – designing a game for the interaction of the visually impaired and the sighted will not be possible unless the game is attractive for both parties. This means not only thinking about the visually impaired, but considering the interests of non-visually impaired (sighted) children as well.
Although visuals should not be a key part of the game or its competitiveness, it is necessary to incentivize sighted children to forge an interest in the game itself. For example, various shapes used in association with colors allow both sighted and sight impaired children to identify their pieces on the board. Contrasting and vibrant colors draw attention to an object or task of interest. Additionally, all aspects of the game should be secured to the playing area as a visually impaired child uses tactile scanning to “see” the game board and pieces. Using things such as Velcro and suction cups in the designs helps avoid unintentional interaction with the board pieces such as knocking them over.
Overall, when the “dimension of sight is inaccessible, children create and operate within a different frame of reference in which other methods of gathering and processing information such as smell, memory, touch, and hearing are used in place of visual feedback.”[2] Correctly identifying and understanding this frame of reference helps the designer create an environment in which both parties have equal chances of coming up with strategies and winning.