Impaired Vision Experience

A few classmates and I got a glimpse into the daily life of a person with impaired vision. We wore sunglasses with petroleum jelly smeared on the inside of the lenses and walked around our school's union building, the CUB. We also looked through resealable baggies to see a newspaper as a visually impaired person would and looked through a vision simulator tool.

We each completed tasks like walking up and down stairs, using an elevator, and using an ATM. Going down stairs is difficult with a visual impairment, and it is hard to see where the stairs end. The railings on the staircases, however, are very helpful because they are metal and reflect light which makes them easier to see. Using elevators is difficult because the buttons outside the elevator are not well marked. The biggest problem with the buttons is that at one set of elevators, the fire alarm button is the same size and shape as the up and down buttons-- one of my partners almost pushed that button by accident! My group and I visited multiple ATMs, and some are easier to use than others. The credit card slots feature green lights, and all the keypads have a braille bump on the number 5. The enter and exit keys were green and red on the ATMs, but were not bright enough to even be noticeable for someone with a visual impairment. Our union building features a lot of bright colors and high contrast, which are generally great for someone who is visually impaired, but these contrasts are not necessarily in the right places in the CUB. The biggest contrast issue was the glass doors entering the bookie. The doors have no frames, so it is hard to tell whether a door is open or closed.

My group and I were unable to read a newspaper through a plastic baggie. We first tried to read the paper through two layers of plastic, and I could only read the title of the newspaper and headlines. Through four layers of plastic, I everything was much blurrier, but I was still able to read the big headlines.

The vision simulator tool, a piece of plastic with different sections through which to look, showed people with various visual impairments see. I thought the tunnel vision tool was most helpful in understanding that particular kind of visual impairment, which removes all peripheral vision.

Light, colors, and general shapes were most visible in this experience. Overall, the most important design features for someone with a visual impairment include good lighting, contrasting colors, and sound cues. It is crucial that stairs, railings, doorways, walls, and corners are well lit and high contrasting to allow the most comfort for use by a person who is visually impaired. Sound cues, like at elevators, are also helpful. In a residence, sounds from water features to wind chimes can help orient a person in a space.