Visual Disability Experience

Riding an elevator

Attempting to use an ATM

 As someone who is already visually impaired, this was not much of a new experience to me. I have had contact lenses since I was 10 and glasses before that, so this activity just simulated how life would be if I did not have those corrections readily available. Everything appeared to be quite blurry and in order to read a newspaper or other element you must hold the object close to your face or get close to it. When walking around the CUB I found it was similar to walking around my apartment without my glasses or contacts in and I could navigate easily, but the problems arose when attempting to do simple tasks, such as pressing the correct elevator button or using an ATM. Although there were cues on the ATM machine of what buttons were which, without knowing how a keypad is normally set up, it would be difficult to operate without the knowledge of braille. Walking stairs was interesting due to the loss of perceptive depth and without having done this task multiple times without corrective lens I would have most likely tripped. Overall, certain aspects brought new light to my visual disability and made me better understand how to design for someone who has a visual impairment.