How Might We Create Visible Creativity for Blind People - Coursework Example

How Might We Create Visible Creativity for Blind People

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Word count: 1,800

Executive summary

The global number of blind patients increased by 17.6% in the 25 years from 1990 to 2015. With this said, there is a need to develop design thinking workshops to solve some of the blind's problems. Such seminars help in answering questions such as how might we provide an exact way to distinguish colours for colour blind people, how we might create opportunities for semi-blind people to go out alone and how might we help the blind with other senses so that they can see the world from their perspective. Arguably, the rise in blindness conditions could be attributed to changes in living habits. Out of the five steps in design thinking (Empathize, Define, Ideation, Prototyping, and Testing), define stood out. The Big Idea was to develop painting courses for blind people.

Introduction

According to McNeil 2018, the global number of blind patients increased by 17.6% in the 25 years from 1990 to 2015. Based on this, McNeil 2018 speculates that 38.5 million of the total population of 7.75 billion will be blind by 2020, and 115 million out of 9.690 billion by 2050. Patients with moderate to severe visual impairment are estimated to increase to 237 million in 2020 and 588 million in 2050. With this said, there is a need to come up with design thinking workshops to solve some of the blind's problems. Such workshops help in answering questions such as how might we provide an exact way to distinguish colors for color blind people, how we might create opportunities for semi-blind people to go out alone and how might we help the blind with other senses so that they can see the world from their perspective. Blind people need specific help and need things that meet their needs, such as particular places, blind toilets, and hearing aids. The workshop aimed at solving the problems of how might we provide a straightforward way to distinguish colors for color blind people, how we might create opportunities for semi-blind people to go out alone, and how might we help the blind with other senses so that they can see the world from their perspective.

Positives

When performing the customers' journey map, it was evident that the product would help the color blinds comprehend and distinguish colors. Being able to distinguish color would prove convenient for the color blinds when crossing roads. Those that are partially blind acknowledged that the product would enhance their vision, thus enabling them to see the object and read books from a much further distance. The totally blind hoped that the product could be easily portable and could issue warnings by voice before they could hit an obstacle on their way.

Negatives

As much as the product would offer better color comprehension for the color blind, this group felt that it could not be responsive enough. They also felt that its accuracy could not be high enough. The partially blind could not find the product convenient enough. There were issues of reparability (if broken, how much could it cost and where could it be repaired) and how to access the product in terms of purchase. The totally blind found that the power consumption of the product could be high, and if it were to be improved, it would affect its portability. The object could also not scan the environment clearly and offer assistance in real-time in case there was an obstacle on the way.

Observations

According to the report, the research team of Australia's Brien Holden Institute of Vision (BHVI) estimated that in 2000, about 1.4 billion people in the world were short-sighted, accounting for 22.9% of the world's total population, of which 163 million were in serious condition. They also estimated that by 2050, myopia would reach 4.758 billion, accounting for 49.8% of the global population, of which 938 million are in serious condition. According to the latest research, the Australian researchers warn that by 2050, myopia will be the leading cause of blindness, with an average of one in five people at risk of blindness. This is a severe trend because profound myopia means a higher risk of eye conditions, such as myopic macular disease, cataract, glaucoma, and retinal detachment. These conditions can lead to permanent blindness. Arguably, the rise in blindness conditions could be attributed to changes in living habits. People spend less time outdoors, and children spend more and more time staring at the screen or books.

The 5 Steps

Out of the five steps (Empathize, Define, Ideation, Prototyping, and Testing), Define stood out. It helped in the identification of the primary user of the product. This is because the persona and customer journey mapping were used. Identifying the prior user was essential to enable the customization of the product so that the user can exploit all of its features effectively. It helped to put customers’' feedback into use when designing and developing the product. Designing and developing a product with the end-user in mind is vital because it enables one to create a product that answers almost all of the customer's needs and wants.

Tools

During the workshop period, empathy maps, persona, customer journey mapping, stakeholder mapping, affinity diagram, the Pugh Matrix, and The Napkin pitch were put into use. Empathy mapping was crucial in determining why a product had to be developed. It established what the blind was missing out on and how they felt about them. From the fundamental reason why a product had to be developed, persona and customer journey mapping were influential in creating a product that could suit the primary users' needs. Stakeholder mapping enabled the identification of blind people interested in painting as the main stakeholders. The project found the tools vital and could still be put to use.

Critical Points

Through this was a practical activity organized by the school, the group visited schools for the blind to identify some of the blind's problems. The outcome was unthinkable, seeing the blind people writing and cooking by themselves, which made me realize the blind's endurance. I wanted to create an object for them that can improve their quality of life. With the help of Google searches, surveys, interviewing friends to the blind students, interviewing the blind students, the mission was to determine what the students needed most. The goal was to determine what problems they were going through and what changes they wanted in their lives.

After sufficient research, it was determined that blind people could be divided into color blinded, semi blinded and blinded. It was also established that the primary users could be the color blinded group. They have more obvious needs to go out and confirm that there are more users. They could use their eyes, but they needed to distinguish the different shades of colors. When cooking, they can also determine whether the food is cooked or not based on color; when clothing, they could choose colours to wear and what color to buy. The color blinded group also wanted to drive on their own like ordinary people and have a driver's license, so the demand for color blinds proved to be more straightforward and more workable.

The Innovation

To evaluate the three conceptual design alternatives (open pottery making course, open painting course, and open cooking course), the Pugh matrix and Napkin Pitch were used. The Pugh matrix consisted of three criteria (feasibility, creativity, and difficulty), as well as three alternatives, including pottery making courses, painting courses, and cooking courses. Based on the evaluation results of the three options under the three criteria, opening painting courses had high feasibility and creativity as well as low difficulty. The Big Idea was to develop painting courses for blind people. Using Napkin Pitch as a tool, we determined that blind people interested in the painting are the primary stakeholder. The painting course could be incorporated with chess courses to help cultivate blind people's perception of fixed-point positioning during the painting process and increase the accuracy of the painting layout, like Salisbury, 2020, asserted. Guerreiro, Sato, Ahmetovic, Kitani, and Asakawa, 2020, also found that the melody of playing the piano is very similar to the rhythm of painting, which can help blind people develop rhythm on painting.

The unmet need it served was that it allowed the blind to present their painting gifts. For execution, the painting courses would be delivered as an ordinary course for blind people, and the assets required were texts and teaching methods targeting the blind people. The partners required were professional teachers and professional people in compiling the books. Although there is no systematic drawing course for the blind, there exist blind painters. Under the help of experienced teachers and professional people in compiling the texts, the project developed a systematic teaching method. As this would be the first project to build painting courses for blind people and increase the business’ reputation on creating visual creativity for blind people, competition would emerge trying to develop similar systems.

Future Actions

The project needs to determine the specific design scheme of the product. This includes the design of the facilities and equipment used in terms of shape, nature, use method, purchase method, and maintenance. The product users can be blind, including the colour blind, semi-blind, and fully blind, but the project needs to determine they can learn to use this product. The best way to go about it would be by employing audio and video tutorials, accompanied by family members, to assist the blind in learning how to use the product.

Conclusion

They need to be taken care of at all times. They need help from society, guide dogs. Doctors and blind patients have two ways of communicating, and both need better forms of communication. With the development of science and technology and medicine development, many colour blindness can now be treated, but there could be more to be done to help the blind. To answer how we might create visual creativity for blind people, we have to implement design thinking dynamics. While looking into the business model, it is worth noting that the key partners are teachers on painting, chess, piano and colour, experts on compiling texts. Key activities are training on teachers for teaching blind people, courses on chess, piano, and painting, exams on learning results of bind people.

Recommendations

In 2018, the World Health Organization estimated that there were approximately 36 million blind people worldwide (World Health Organization, 2020). Research predicts that in the next 40 years, the number of blind people in the world will triple (Altschuler 2020). This means that the market for education for the blind has excellent potential. But data are showing that many blind people are in poor families (McDonnall & Lund 2020). This means that to attract more customers, this project should cooperate with the local government to reduce costs. Lastly, there is also a need to look into other design thinking projects that would encompass the partially blind and the totally blind people as their main users.

Negatives

As much as the product would offer better color comprehension for the color blind, this group felt that it could not be responsive enough. They also felt that its accuracy could not be high enough. The partially blind could not find the product convenient enough. There were issues of reparability (if broken, how much could it cost and where could it be repaired) and how to access the product in terms of purchase. The totally blind found that the power consumption of the product could be high, and if it were to be improved, it would affect its portability. The object could also not scan the environment clearly and offer assistance in real-time in case there was an obstacle on the way.

Observations

According to the report, the research team of Australia's Brien Holden Institute of Vision (BHVI) estimated that in 2000, about 1.4 billion people in the world were short-sighted, accounting for 22.9% of the world's total population, of which 163 million were in serious condition. They also estimated that by 2050, myopia would reach 4.758 billion, accounting for 49.8% of the global population, of which 938 million are in serious condition. According to the latest research, the Australian researchers warn that by 2050, myopia will be the leading cause of blindness, with an average of one in five people at risk of blindness. This is a severe trend because profound myopia means a higher risk of eye conditions, such as myopic macular disease, cataract, glaucoma, and retinal detachment. These conditions can lead to permanent blindness. Arguably, the rise in blindness conditions could be attributed to changes in living habits. People spend less time outdoors, and children spend more and more time staring at the screen or books.

The 5 Steps

Out of the five steps (Empathize, Define, Ideation, Prototyping, and Testing), Define stood out. It helped in the identification of the primary user of the product. This is because the persona and customer journey mapping were used. Identifying the prior user was essential to enable the customization of the product so that the user can exploit all of its features effectively. It helped to put customers’' feedback into use when designing and developing the product. Designing and developing a product with the end-user in mind is vital because it enables one to create a product that answers almost all of the customer's needs and wants.

Tools

During the workshop period, empathy maps, persona, customer journey mapping, stakeholder mapping, affinity diagram, the Pugh Matrix, and The Napkin pitch were put into use. Empathy mapping was crucial in determining why a product had to be developed. It established what the blind was missing out on and how they felt about them. From the fundamental reason why a product had to be developed, persona and customer journey mapping were influential in creating a product that could suit the primary users' needs. Stakeholder mapping enabled the identification of blind people interested in painting as the main stakeholders. The project found the tools vital and could still be put to use.

Critical Points

Through this was a practical activity organized by the school, the group visited schools for the blind to identify some of the blind's problems. The outcome was unthinkable, seeing the blind people writing and cooking by themselves, which made me realize the blind's endurance. I wanted to create an object for them that can improve their quality of life. With the help of Google searches, surveys, interviewing friends to the blind students, interviewing the blind students, the mission was to determine what the students needed most. The goal was to determine what problems they were going through and what changes they wanted in their lives.

After sufficient research, it was determined that blind people could be divided into color blinded, semi blinded and blinded. It was also established that the primary users could be the color blinded group. Read More