Awakening the senses when losing sight by Clémence MB from france

Remarkable:d is a collection of three temporary body tools that guide the recently visually impaired individuals to develop other sensory abilities. The tools encourage them to discover new sensations and to seek sensory information within their environment. By optimising natural capabilities, these transitional objects enhance alternative ways of interacting with the world.

Reliable:d is a pair of shoes that help to improve navigation by feeling textures and topography under your feet. This is the multifaceted soles made of multiples tiny rigid dots layered between two flexible surfaces that provide this high sensitivity. Being the principle of the product, the soles could easily be adapted on every other shape of shoes.

Foreseeable:d is a hearing device that helps to refine the hearing by tuning noise to focus on sound. The nanotechnology of this device is similar to the one of hearing aids. The three different modes enable the user to highlight 3 different types of sounds: deep sounds, voices or high-pitched sounds.

Believable:d is a pair of shoulder pads to help locate yourself by perceiving air currents. The electronic device embedded in each pad records the air pressure thanks to a micro air sensor (diaphragm) and sends a vibration to the shoulder when there is a clear change of pressure, that is to say a change in space.

// Users
According to the research led for the project (statistics, interviews, theoretical research) the characteristics of the users would be a matter of personality and motivation. Indeed, the ability and will of adaptation are related to the personality of the users rather than to their age.
Naturally, these objects could be compelling for sighted people as well. In this perspective, the tools could provide a new and thrilling sensory experience.

// Research
The first step of this user-centred project was to meet and interview people with visual impairment to deeply understand the issues they can encounter. Their testimonies led me to focus on the period during or after sight loss, which seems to be the more challenging time. The rediscovery of a ‘new’ body, a new identity is one of the hardest ordeals. However, most of people highlighted the impressing and positive development of the senses. This is occurring naturally but requires efforts and some techniques to learn. Therefore the collection addresses this need.

// Development and production
The three tools would need to be developed further technically with engineers and specialists and then be produced by international manufacturers. Indeed, the target group can be small at a country scale but is actually huge at the world scale, considering the growing of factors like the ageing population and diseases like diabetes.

// Stakes of the project
I truly believe that design should always be used to look ahead and forms innovative possibilities to apprehend better our future. When tackling today complex issues, it has to offer a new positioning and encourage our society to evolve in a positive way.
This project explores the role of design when addressing disability. Design should follow the physical evolution of our population and change with the body in a time of transition instead of viewing it as a broken entity and trying to repair it to its previous state. As such, design could have a key role in redefining the limits of the body, encouraging new social insights on disability and visual impairment.
This project shows that sight loss is actually a transitional period in life, which is possible to tackle and overcome by developing fantastic – yet natural - sensory abilities.