In Project 6, my team, consisting of Suho Kim, Gianna Everette, and myself, embarked on a journey to identify a client for our final project. The goal was to find a meaningful problem to solve and collaborate with an organization that would benefit from our design. This reflection outlines our experiences, including client research, client interaction, and problem identification
Our journey began with a keen focus on empathy. We recognized the importance of understanding our potential client and their needs thoroughly. To achieve this, we started by defining our customer profile, answering questions like who they are, what they do throughout the day, and where we can find them. Our primary focus was on visually impaired children, and this led us to reach out to organizations such as the Perkins School for the Blind and the Carroll Center in Massachusetts.
To engage potential clients, we created email templates that effectively communicated our intentions and the value we could offer. These templates were used to reach out to various organizations. We aimed to cast a wide net to ensure we could gather valuable insights. Sending at least one email by the specified deadline was a critical milestone in this process.
Our team conducted an enlightening Zoom meeting with representatives from the Carrol Center. Although we had not yet confirmed them as our client at this stage, the meeting yielded a wealth of insights and ideas.
The Carroll Center representatives provided insights into the need for tactile and spatial learning materials, emphasizing that visually impaired children often lack exposure to and understanding of real-world objects.
During our discussion with the Carrol Center representatives, we posed several pertinent questions:
To effectively convey our ideas and concepts to the Carrol Center, we prepared an open-source hardware prototype—a fish tactile puzzle. The prototype was designed to help visually impaired children explore the concept of a "fish" through touch and braille. This tactile puzzle aimed to provide a hands-on learning experience, promoting both education and enjoyment.
The word “fish” is constructed by joining together 4 puzzle blocks that have braille letters F-I-S-H embossed on them. The blind child fits together the blocks by feeling and matching the right shapes. A line engraved at its bottom ensures that the letters are aligned. The kid is able to read the word “fish”. Next, the kid feels around the contours of the entire bloc, to understand what the form of a fish is.
One of the essential components of this project was the creation of a client release for liability. It was imperative to establish clear expectations, responsibilities, and boundaries to ensure that we "Do No Harm." This would serve to protect both our team and the client and guarantee a transparent and professional working relationship.
Both parties agree to maintain confidentiality, act professionally, and adhere to the "Do No Harm" principle. Termination can be initiated with written notice. This Release represents the entire agreement between the parties.
After our initial meeting with the Carrol Center and extensive discussions within our team, we employed two Design Thinking Methodologies—the Empathy Map and Prioritization Grid—to gain a more profound understanding of the problem our client was facing. These methods enabled us to think critically and creatively, ensuring that our solutions would be both innovative and effective.
For the Empathy Map, I was mainly trying to remember what my grandpa, who was visually impaired, used to do and say often. He used to require a lot of help doing simple daily tasks, but he had the ability to recognize things easily by touching and feeling them.
For the Prioritization Grid, we were focusing on the insights that were shared during our meeting with the Carrol Center. Most of the ideas that they suggested, and I mentioned above, were mentioned here as well.
From our research and brainstorming, we identified our 5 ways to solve the problem:
Our client interaction and brainstorming sessions are ongoing processes. We have identified potential solutions, but we believe that further client engagement is necessary to refine our approach. The upcoming meeting with the Perkins School for the Blind may provide additional perspectives and insights.
While we made significant progress, our client selection wasn't finalized after the Carrol Center meeting. We scheduled another meeting with the Perkins School for the Blind on November 11, with the possibility of collaborating with both organizations. Our objective remains to create innovative, inclusive, and engaging educational tools for visually impaired children.
In conclusion, Project 6 has been a journey of exploration, creativity, and empathy. It has reinforced our commitment to creating products that are both engaging and inclusive for visually impaired children. We look forward to continuing our work and bringing innovative solutions to life.