Vision Impairment

As a designer, it is always a good idea to understand your client. This is especially true if you have a client with special needs for their environment. I experienced being in a wheelchair to understand ADA requirements, and it was very beneficial to my understanding of the needs they have that are different from what I experience.  This exercise was to experience what a person with a visual impairment experiences in their interactions with the built environment. I think this is something everyone should try, it really forces you to understand some of the difficulties  of visual impairment.

The excercise was to wear sunglasses smeared with Vaseline inside the lenses. We then were to navigate both interior and exterior stairs, use an elevator, and try to use an ATM.  I learned that contrast in an interior space is crucial to navigating for someone with a visual impairment, especially from the wall to the floor. I would look to this line to guide me throughout the spaces I was in. Spaces without this contrast were much more difficult. At one point I could not tell there was a room, because the room had glass walls and the carpet and walls were all the same tone. Another problem was glare. Shiny floors with fluorescent lighting made things worse. If I could rely on contrast I was ok, but no contrast and glare to contend with, made navigation very difficult. A third problem was depth perception. This was especially true when trying to navigate stairs. At one point I was trying to go down some terrazzo stairs, and finally had to hold onto the rail, and someone's arm to get down. These stairs had the traditional black grip strips on them, but there was not enough contrast with the color of the stairs to differentiate the contrast.

All in all, it was a good learning experience, one that I will remember when I am designing spaces for the visually impaired.