Thesis: Centre for the Visually Impaired-The Research 1

The Topics that were researched were:

FLOORING AND SURFACES

An essential component to designing any space for the visually impaired is a careful, thoughtful selection of materials. As they rely on the information transmitted to them through their cane, change in surface material are cues and way-finding elements, they must be consistent and intuitive.

COLOUR AND CONTRAST

For the partially sighted the application of colour and suitable contrast is an important consideration. The American Foundation for the Blind has some guidelines on their website:

“Use of Colour Contrast

• Place light objects against a dark background, a dark table near a white wall, for example, or a black switch plate on a white wall.
• Install doorknobs that contrast in colour with doors for easy location.
• Paint the woodwork of the door frame a contrasting colour to make it easier to locate.
• Mark the edges of all steps and ramps with paint or tape of a highly contrasting colour.” (AFB, 2013)

Lighting

The effective use of colour and contrast must be combined with a careful consideration to lighting as well.

Some of the common difficulties encountered by people with vision impairment, which have been identified by the NCBI, include:

1.       Reduced or non-existent night vision

2.      Difficulties in bright light

3.      Difficulties when moving from bright to darker areas and vice versa

4.      Central vision loss (no detailed vision for reading)

5.      Peripheral vision loss (reduced vision to one or both sides, above or below)

6.      Can only see movement

7.      Can only see blurred outlines

8.      Can only detect light

(NCBI)

Acoustics

Vision being the most dominant of the senses is used to gather information about the environment around us. In the absence or severely reduced performance of sight, hearing is used to compensate for that. 

Successful wayfinding often depends on localizing objects or surfaces in the immediate surroundings (Guth, 1997). Objects can be detected using changes in the ambient sound field as an individual walks and interacts with the environment and can be identified on the basis of any sound they produce (Gaver, 1993). Hearing facilitates the appreciation of depth and distance and enables the understanding of environmental features (W. R. Wiener, 1997). 

When designing for people with vision loss, we must keep certain things in mind. The sound produced by the footsteps also helps avoid collisions with other people (Papadopoulos, 2011).

Wayfinding and Sensory Design

According to Carlson, Holscher, Shipley and Dalton, the three factors that contribute to the wayfinding features of a building:

“…the spatial structure of a building, the cognitive maps that users construct as they navigate it, and the strategies and spatial abilities of the building’s users.” (Laura A. Carlson, 2010)