In order to get to know the case owner the group perused a small research on visual impairment. The term ‘visual impairment’ refers to a condition where a person’s vision is significantly compromised, making it difficult for them to perform daily activities that require sight. It can range from mild to severe and may include conditions such as nearsightedness, farsightedness, colour blindness, cataracts, glaucoma, macular degeneration, and retinal disorders, among others. Visual impairment can impact a person’s ability to read, write, drive, recognize faces, navigate their surroundings, and participate fully in social and professional activities. It’s important to note that visual impairment doesn’t necessarily mean total blindness; many individuals with visual impairments retain some degree of vision.

In the case of our case owner, it was discovered that his blindness was caused by Rieger Syndrome, a rare genetic disorder that primarily affects the development of the eyes, teeth, and other parts of the body. This syndrome is characterised by abnormalities in the development of the anterior segment of the eye, which includes the cornea, iris, and drainage structures. One of the most serious complications of Rieger syndrome is the development of glaucoma. The abnormal development of the drainage structures in the eye can lead to increased pressure behind the eye, which can damage the optic nerve and result in vision loss if not treated promptly. This is probably what triggered the case-owner’s blindness

(WHO, 2023) (WHO, sd) (Dandona & Dandona, 2006) (Boey, Fitzmaurice, Tse, Chan, & Carey, 2022)

In the case of our case owner, he was able to see 30 to 40 percent and was able to do most things, except driving a car. As of a few years back, however, his eyesight deteriorated rapidly, to the point where he can now near-exclusively distinguish, in his peripheral vision, larger shapes based on light and darkness, with minimal perception of movement, due to total loss of his central vision. This makes it impossible to read, recognize faces and distinguish most details in the distance. In the case of our case owner the loss of central vision deeply extended to the eye causing an almost complete loss of his peripheral vision. He can now only see movement due to the change of light/darkness but it’s unable to distinguish shapes or colours.

The first interview with Ted served as the foundation for the team’s analysis and research. Based on the first encounter, Ted leads a dynamic life despite his visual impairment, he showed a deep interest in running and explained how he is actively involved in competitions and now working on improving his performance in order to participate in marathons. Usually Ted has to run with a buddy in order to avoid obstacles due to his visual impairment. In this case his daughters and the buddy system provided by the Running Blind Foundation come to the rescue by facilitating his training and competition participation.

Outside of his athletic pursuits, Ted is involved in multiple jobs, including software accessibility testing, massage therapy and a collection agency, which is now trying to distance from due to its stressful role. Interestingly enough, the job as a massage therapist started as a side hobby in order to support his wife, now Ted is fully involved in the activity and plans on dedicating more time to it.

Other than his multiple jobs, Ted enjoys cycling in tandem with his wife and is an avid ‘reader’, he explained that due to not being born blind he is not comfortable using braille and prefers audiobooks instead.

By understanding his specific needs and preferences, it was clear that Ted wishes for a product designed to assist him in his daily life that shall prioritise simplicity, multi functionality and accessibility.

In order to fully understand Ted’s point of view and desires an analysis of wishes, goals, motivations and frustrations of the case owner was made. In this case the main focus would be strictly related to the outcome of the first interview.

Preferred Activities: 

Running: Ted enjoys running, especially if alongside his daughters. He typically covers distances ranging from 10 kilometres to half marathons, but did express his interest in training for full marathons. 

Cycling: Although his visual impairment prevents active participation, Ted maintains a strong interest in cycling so he occasionally uses a tandem to run errands with his wife.

‘Reading’ & following sports: Ted enjoys reading, making use of audio books, as previously mentioned he is not comfortable making use of the braille language, for this reason audio books and radios are great allies. In this case he enjoys ‘reading’ books and following sports through the radio.

Wishes:

Increased independence: Ted wishes for more independence in his daily activities, particularly in navigating his surroundings (especially inside of his own home) and participating in various sports and hobbies.

Accessibility: He desires accessible technology in order to simplify the interaction of multiple blind users around the globe.

Inclusivity: Ted wants products to not solely be catered towards visually impaired users, but also that can still be functional for fully sighted users. He dislikes the idea that “things always have to be altered for him”, and that “he never has to alter anything he does.”

Skills: 

Technological ability: Coming from his work in software testing, particularly accessibility testing, as well as his use of systems like the screen reader NVDA (Non-Visual Desktop Access), Ted definitely has a solid understanding of technology. 

Massaging: Ted has developed skills in massage therapy, initially as a hobby and later as a side job that is slowly playing a larger role in his life.

Adaptability: Because of his visual impairment, he has had to come up with other ways to get through his day-to-day life. He has adapted to using screen reading software and other assistive technologies effectively, and uses his sense of touch and hearing as a “replacement” for his vision.

Goals:

Athletic achievements: Ted aims to increase his running ability, from 10 km to 20 km, and eventually participate in marathons.

Career transition: He aims to transition away from stressful jobs like working on his collection agency to focus more on roles like software testing and massage therapy that align with his interests and offer greater flexibility.

Frustrations:

Accessibility challenges: The co-designer faces frustrations with inaccessible technology, public spaces, and societal attitudes, such as encountering obstacles during running or facing limitations when booking accommodations with his guide dog.

Limitations due to visual impairment: His frustration comes from the limitations imposed by his visual impairment, such as difficulty in reading braille or navigating cluttered environments.

Motivations:

Independence and autonomy: Despite his visual impairment, Ted remains motivated to lead an independent and fulfilling life, actively seeking solutions to overcome challenges and advocating for accessibility.

Pursuit of personal interests: He is motivated by his passion for sports, hobbies, and professional pursuits despite his obstacles.

The case owner showed a deep trust toward his wife’s advice. During the first meeting it was revealed how many of the tasks which usually involve visual feedback or inputs are generally taken over by Ted’s wife. For this reason, in terms of design choices regarding the look of the final design Ted suggests relying on his wife’s opinion, since at the end “she is going to be the one looking at it”.

Another interesting factor is how thanks to the presence of his wife and daughters Ted can decide not to fall towards difficult tasks which might make the life of a visually impaired more complex. This note was confirmed during the context presentation where it was clear that the two Blind individuals ‘introduced’ during the session, were deeply different in terms of needs and habits.

Additionally, it was revealed from the case owner how functionality often prevailed over the aesthetic of feeling of the object. In this case the case owner has no real preference in terms of materials but would rather have the group focus on the functionality of the design.

Before delving into ideation processes it was important for the group to understand how blind people perceive their surroundings and experience the world. For this second research phase the group utilised the insights gained from the first interview with the case owner as well as information from the web. The results of this research touched upon multiple areas but most importantly the different development of hearing, touch, smell and spatial awareness.

In this sense, it was confirmed that blind individuals often rely on hearing to gather information about their environment. Hearing is considered as one of the best allies in order to determine the location of objects, obstacles, and people by listening to footsteps, voices or sound cues. Additionally, another important way blind individuals gather information about their surroundings is through the sense of touch. In this case though their hands, visually impaired explore objects, surfaces, and textures (Lubomirsky, 2021). Most blind people due to their acute sense of tact are able to read braille, a tactile writing system, which allows blind individuals to read and write by feeling raised dots arranged in specific patterns (Eisenmenger, 2020) (Li, Dorst, & Carrington, 2021).

What came as a very interesting note was to discover how some users, like Ted, are not comfortable using the braille system. This, in his own words, is strictly related to not being blind from birth. This is followed by more in-depth research.

It was in fact discovered how individuals who are blind from birth experienced stimuli differently, and how this influences their cognitive development, sensory processing, and understanding of the world. Blind ‘from birth’ rely more heavily on non-visual senses from an early age and develop unique strategies for navigating their environment. Acquired blindness may require a significant adjustment period as individuals adapt to their new visual status and learn new skills later in life (Palm, 2012). Additionally, learning those skills at an early age might be easier since the brain exhibits greater neuroplasticity during childhood and adolescence, meaning it is more adaptable and capable of forming new neural connections in response to learning experiences. This can make it easier for children to acquire new skills and knowledge compared to adults (Fandakova & Hartley, 2020). And would explain the discomfort of our case owner in using solutions like braille.

On the contrary, vocal cues are much more familiar, and therefore preferred by our case owner, since they have been trained since an early age. For this reason, in the creation of the final design the group will prefer audio cues to tactile ones.

Finally, on the topic of spatial awareness and memory skills, it was confirmed how blind individuals use those to navigate their surroundings. Blind individuals create mental maps of their environment based mostly on previous experiences, memory and verbal descriptions. This cognitive mapping allows them to build a mental representation of spaces and navigate them effectively (Lubomirsky, 2021). This definition easily explains the struggles faced by our case owner in his own house, especially in relation with finding objects which have recently been moved around the house, needing assistance from his wife or daughters.