PlaceMate | Bastian Reichhardt

What
Student Project,
Delft University of Technology

Area
Design for Interaction, Inclusive Design, Human Factors

PlaceMate

A new dine out experience for visually impaired through a simple yet clever placemat. It takes away communication barriers by providing haptic guidance to the blind person and visual guidance to the waiter.

The initial cycle served to research the domain, find a focus area and continuously frame the research and design objectve. Casual observation helped during the sensitizing phase.

Engaging with blind people

In order to engange with the target group and to better understand their everyday life including pain points, needs and desires, a casual observation was conducted.

Without predetermined categories in which to put the observation, the actions in the field could be captured freely and unbiased in form of descriptive notes, images and videos. A simple walk from home to the supermarket turned out to be a stresful journey. Based on the data behavioral mapping was undertaken and the participant's locations and actions in space over time recorded.

I avoid dining out, because I feel ashamed, when others can see me searching for the food on the table.

Visually impaired interviewee

Exploration

The second cycle started with an observation in context. This gave the possibility to identify a target interaction for my design intervention. Prototypes were first tested in role plays, then evaluated with a target user, and finally tested in context.

Participatory observation

In order to immerse myself into the dine out experience of blind people, I took an affetced person to a restaurant.

Diving into the field of dining out, the first activity was a participatory observation, where the current situation was explored more in depth in order to reframe the Design Goal and Interaction Vision. Further research was focused on the interaction in the moment when the waiter serves the meal.

Pain points in the current situation

During the restaurant visit, the blind person faces a series of several peaks, where orientation is difficult and the stress level shows a drastic increase.

The blind person is relatively cautious in communicating and interacting with the waiter. The waiter on the other hand is normally not used to serve visually impaired and thus might behave reserved and insecure. That leads to uncertainty for the blind, since they don‘t fully catch the situation and face the unknown.

Uncertainty

Communication Failure

Restraint

Insecurity

How can the blind person experience less unknown?

How can the communication between both be improved?

How can the blind person become more self-determined?

What causes both feel insecure during the interaction?

For a blind person, the situation in a restaurant can be overwhelming.

Design Goal
Let blind people profit from a supportive communication with the waiter in a restaurant during the serving moment of the order.

Prototyping & Testing

A range of diverse prototypes were initially tested in stand-up roleplays, iterated and evaluated by a visually impaired and eventually tried in real context. The prototypes used haptic, audible and visual cues with and without technology.

Defining

Informed by previous prototyping and testing iterations the final concept was defined. User insights determined crucial features and considerations as well as functional requirements on the design.

01

Interaction. The final placemat appeared to be a true anchor and guide for the visually impaired user. So they know in which exact moment and where the waitress would put the order.

02

Experience. With the placemat the user shall profit from increased certainty and confidence within the serving moment, which also enhances the ease while eating afterwards.

03

Appearance. The concept is a flexible placemat, that can be rolled up and is brought to the restaurant by the blind person. It has a certain thickness to implement simple tactile markers.

04

Expression. The mat shall not be recognizable as a supportive tool for visually impaired. Shapes are simple for easy tactile identification and and a contemporary, functionalistic aethetic.

05

Material. The placemat shall be produced out of soft silicone rubber in order to ensure easy cleaning, flexibilty and durability. A dark color provides contrast to the tableware.

A simple yet clever placemat, that gives haptic guidance to the blind person and visual guidance to the waiter.

Back to Projects →