Project Report: Empowering Vision — A Design Approach
for Visual Pathologies
Figure 1. Design team and the Boaiju focus group team
1.0 Summary
This project, “Empowering Vision,” addresses the significant daily challenges faced by individuals with visual impairments, including low vision and blindness. Through a human-centered design process involving extensive user research, including interviews with medical professionals and the community of blind and low-vision people (BLV), and a co-design approach, we identified key unmet needs in existing assistive technologies. The project culminated in the development of five innovative, low-fidelity prototypes that leverage multisensory feedback — primarily tactile and auditory — to create more intuitive, accessible, and affordable solutions. Our findings indicate a strong user preference for combined sensory feedback and highlight the potential for inclusive design to significantly improve independence and quality of life.
3.0 Methods
A mixed-methods approach was employed to ensure a deep, empathetic understanding of user needs.
Desktop Research: Literature review and market analysis (Benchmark & SWOT) of existing products (Philips, Brossee, Moejoe).
User Research:
Interview: Conducted with Dr. Zhou from Kowloon Hospital to understand clinical perspectives and patient demographics.
Collaboration: Worked closely with the Suzhou Boaiju Public Welfare Service Center for firsthand insights and co-design feedback.
Thematic Analysis: Qualitative data from interviews and collaborations were analyzed to identify common themes and challenges.
AI-driven Sentiment/Emotion Analysis: Utilized AI platforms (ERNIE Bot, Chat-GPT, DeepSeek, Doubao) to empathize with users’ narratives, applying a mixed approach to prompt engineering, combining sentiment, emotions, and affect frameworks.
Somatic Workshop: A three-phase session led by a performance artist on reawakening dormant qualia for embodied ideation.
Iterative Prototyping: Developed multiple low-fidelity prototypes, undergoing several iterations based on user testing and feedback.
Figure 3. Somatic Workshop “Embodied Perceptions of the Senses,” phase 3: Body
Figure 4. Sound-Feedback Seasoning Nozzle
Figure 5. Stick-On Physical Buttons for Touch Interfaces, Iteration 1
Figure 6. Stick-On Physical Buttons for Touch Interfaces, Iteration 2
Figure 7. Intelligent Temperature Sensing Spatula
6.0 Conclusion, Collaborations, and Future Work
This project underscores the critical role of co-design and empathy in empowering individuals with visual impairments.
To achieve a stronger impact and to explore diverse socio-cultural contexts, we have established collaborations with the following academic institutions to conduct similar research projects:
India, Delhi: The Design Village
Indonesia, Surabaya: Universitas Ciputra
Russia, Moscow: Universal University
Future work should focus on:
Organizing a joint exhibition celebrating the achievements of the collaborating institutions.
Comparing findings from different socio-cultural contexts.
Publish academic papers.
Attract further funding and partners.
7.0 References:
Anderson, Eric. "Designing Blind: An Approach Towards Universal Design." Unpublished paper, presented at the IDSA Mideast District Conference, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA, 2007.
Dubey, Nilesh, Gaurang Patel, Amit Nayak, and Amit Ganatra. 2021. "Iot based self-navigation assistance for visually impaired." Lecture Notes on Data Engineering and Communications Technologies 66: 635–42.
Fernandes, Nádia. 2019. "Visual Impairment and Fashion: Breaking Barriers." In At the Interface: Probing the Boundaries 112: 258–67.
Goldreich, Daniel, and Ingrid M. Kanics. (2003). “Tactile acuity is enhanced in blindness.” In The Journal of Neuroscience: the official journal of the Society for Neuroscience, 23(8): 3439–3445. https://doi.org/10.1523/JNEUROSCI.23-08-03439.2003
Herriott, Richard, and Sharon Cook. 2014. “Inclusive Design for Assistive Technology.” In Assistive Technology Research Series 35: 175–84. https://doi.org/10.3233/978-1-61499-403-9-175.
Hoogsteen, Karst M.P., and Sarit Szpiro. 2023. "A holistic understanding of challenges faced by people with low vision." Research in Developmental Disabilities 138.
Inclusive Design Lab, Delft University of Technology. https://delftdesignlabs.org/inclusive-design-lab/projects/
Funding Program: XJTLU Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF)
Project code: SURF-2025-0610
Team Members: Jianfeng Pang, Chu-Chiao Kao, Hao Zhu, Yiying Wang, Zhupeng Huang, Milana Kopytina, Irina Kuznetsova
Supervisors: Dr. Mariia Zolotova (XJTLU), Vicente Esteban (XJTLU), Kimvi Nguyen (XJTLU/ICI), Tatiana Aleksandrova (HSE/SPbU)
Partners: Dr. Qianqian Zhou (Kowloon Hospital),
“Boaiju Public Welfare Service Center” (Suzhou)
2.0 Introduction & Design Problem
The modern world is increasingly straining the eyes due to pervasive screen use and visual overload. For the estimated 2.2 billion people globally with near or distance vision impairment (WHO), these challenges are magnified, creating persistent accessibility barriers.
Core Problem Statement: Current assistive technologies are often underdeveloped, expensive, and inaccessible to the majority. Common aids remain fragmented and non-standardized, failing to meet the complex needs of users with diverse visual impairments.
Project Aim: To develop a structured, empathy-driven design methodology to support designers in designing for the BLV community.
This initial research led to the formulation of our key research questions:
RQ1: How can a structured multidimensional empathy framework — augmented by AI and embedded within the Double Diamond model — enable designers to access, interpret, and apply the lived experiences of blind and low-vision individuals in co-design?
RQ2: What solutions could industrial design offer to address the unmet needs of visually impaired users in their daily lives?
Figure 2. Somatic Workshop “Embodied Perceptions of the Senses,” phase 1: Sensory Re-engagement
4.0 Results & Findings
4.1 User Needs Analysis
A survey of 7 participants from the visually impaired community identified the most significant daily challenges:
Reading Text (100% reported challenges)
Social Interaction (85.71%)
Identifying Color or Contrast (85.71%)
Using Electronic Devices (71.43%)
Navigating New Environments (71.43%)
Cooking (57.14%)
Desired Feedback & Features: Users expressed a strong preference for solutions that combine Auditory (audio feedback) and Tactile (tactile markers, large typography) feedback. Visual features like high contrast and adjustable fonts were also noted as important for those with low vision.
4.2 Developed Prototypes
Five design concepts were developed and iterated upon to address specific identified needs:
Sound-Feedback Seasoning Nozzle
Why: Difficulty controlling liquid seasoning amounts.
What/How: A waterwheel attachment for bottles produces audible cues as liquid flows through it, providing a non-visual measure of quantity.
Iteration: Progressed from explaining the core principle to a functional prototype integrated into a pump head.
Smart Tape Measure with Voice Output
Why: Difficulty finding measurement points and reading scales.
What/How: A talking tape measure with a rotating claw for precise anchoring. Users anchor both ends and press a button to hear the length via voice output (with adjustable volume).
Iteration: 1st Gen used a vernier caliper principle with Braille. 2nd Gen focused on long-distance measurement and integrated a voice recognition system.
Stick-On Physical Buttons for Touch Interfaces
Why: Mis-touches and difficulty locating functions on flat touch panels (e.g., microwaves, water dispensers).
What/How: A universal spring-button base with interchangeable, uniquely shaped tactile covers. Users can first scan the panel with an AI phone tool to locate functions, then attach the corresponding button.
Iteration: Progressed from testing capacitive sensing to a public water dispenser interface and finally to single buttons for home appliances.
3D Tactile Stickers for Smart Microwave Functions
Why: Specifically addressing the complexity of smart microwave interfaces.
What/How: A set of tactile stickers that clearly represent the function of each button (e.g., a raised wave for microwave, a snowflake for defrost). Users apply them after identifying buttons with a phone.
Temperature-Sensing Spatula
Why: heightened risk of injury from high kitchen temperatures.
What/How: A spatula with an integrated probe thermometer. When the pot temperature exceeds a safe threshold, a mechanism in the handle (e.g., memory metal) vibrates to warn the user.
Iteration: 1st Gen integrated a dismantled thermometer. 2nd Gen refined the grip and used simple protrusion prompts for feedback based on user testing.
5.0 Discussion
The project translated user insights into tangible design concepts through a structured, empathy-driven design process. The overwhelming preference for multi-sensory feedback confirms the need to move beyond visual solutions. Prototypes like the Stick-On Buttons and Tactile Stickers address the frustration with modern touch interfaces, offering a simple, low-cost, and highly effective solution.
The iterative design process was crucial. Each prototype evolved significantly based on feedback from the Boaiju community, moving from proof-of-concept to more user-friendly and context-specific applications. For example, the tape measure evolved from a Braille-based tool to a voice-activated one, acknowledging that not all visually impaired users read Braille fluently.
Figure 8. Somatic workshop, phase 3, The Design Village, India
Figure 9. Blindfolded empathy-building experience, The Design Village, India