[rehab] Senior Thesis Design Survey

Wed Mar 16 12:48:26 UTC 2011

I am sighted and have been in the field of blindness/vision rehabilitation for about 11 years, so please take my opinions as secondary to an individual who is blind. 

There are already several adaptive measuring devices (see MaxiAids catalog); the electrical outlets (making sure to include recognition of which pole of the plug is oriented in each direction) would be great.  The silverware sounds like an innovative approach, as well as the storage containers (try to have a place for braille labels). A Vision Rehabilitaton Specialist would be an excellent person to consult with on these activities of daily living. 

Thanks for bringing ideas and products to market!
Chris

--
Sent from iPhone

Chris Tabb
860.335.2789

On Mar 15, 2011, at 2:28, "Kubas, Amy" <kubasa at my.uwstout.edu>(by way of David Andrews	<dandrews at visi.com>) wrote:

> I have been asked, by one of our members, to circulate the following:
> 
> David Andrews
> 
> Hello All!
> My name is Amy Kubas and I am a senior majoring in Industrial Design at the University of Wisconsin-Stout. I will be presenting my Senior Thesis Project at the end of May and will be creating a design for people with visual impairments. I just presented 50 concepts to my professors and advisors who have in turn narrowed it down to 3 to move forward with. Though I value my professors opinions, I was critiqued by a panel of sighted individuals and wish to hear specifically from those whom I am designing for. I feel as though my design will have much more merit in the end if I am able to create it based on the responses I get from those who perform daily tasks without sight.
> 
> Below you will find my Senior Thesis Survey. The survey is entirely voluntary and may take about 15 minutes to complete. Please feel free to leave any comments or suggestions to better design for those with visual impairments.
> 
> When you are finished with the survey, please send it back to my email address at: kubasa at my.uwstout.edu
> 
> Thank you for your time. Your input is GREATLY appreciated!
> Amy Kubas
> Industrial Design - University of Wisconsin - Stout
> 
> Senior Thesis Design Survey
> 
> 
> 
> Below is a list of 6 concept designs followed by a brief description of each. I would like to know which 3 products you would be most interested in purchasing if they were to be put on the market. At the end of the survey there is room for you to provide feedback for improvements/adjustments about the individual designs as well as write any suggestions about products you are interested in that I might not have considered for designing.  Thank you for your interest and helping me with my Senior Project!
> 
> 
> 
> 1.     Electrical Outlet: This outlet would have recessed grooves that serve as guides to direct the user towards safely inserting prongs into the power source.
> 
> 2.     Salt and Pepper Shakers: Shakers would have raised tactile marks to determine which is the salt and which is the pepper without having to sample the contents of the shaker beforehand.
> 
> 3.     Measuring Cups: Cups would be marked with tactile indicators to inform the user which one is ¼ cup, ½ cup, 1/3 cup, etc.
> 
> 4.     Silverware: Utensils would be weighted and designed in such a way that the user would instinctively grab them in the appropriate direction (in other words, when someone picks up the knife for example, he or she automatically knows which way is blade side down by how the handle feels in his or her hand).
> 
> 5.     Storage Containers: Canisters would be marked with different amounts of grooves to allow the user to associate contents with how the canister feels (for example, flour is in the container with two grooves and sugar is stored in the container with one groove, etc.) thus eliminating the need for the user to open and test the contents of each canister before finding the ingredient he or she needs.
> 
> 6.     Cutting board: Board has evenly spaced ridges at the top that serve as a guide for cutting ¼ inch slices of tomatoes, cucumbers, onions, etc. It also has a small section recessed on the right to separate the scraps from portions you wish to consume and there is a ribbed surface that helps stabilize round items from rolling when you are slicing them into sections.
> 
> 
> 
> Please list which 3 items you wish to see come into production.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Please provide suggestions below on how I can design my products for best usability. Feel free to mention any other frustrations you run into when performing everyday tasks that you would like to see addressed with new product designs.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Once again, thank you for your interest in helping me with my Senior Thesis. Your input is GREATLY appreciated!
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