Problem Space and Considerations
Shivani Gulati
Problem Space
Difficulty differentiating products and colours
For the VI and blind consumer, carrying out a beauty or skincare regimen is not as straightforward as it is for sighted individuals, not only because self-appearance is subjective and requires some degree of personal judgment, but also because facial makeup is heavily reliant upon colours. A blind consumer stated, “I listen to a lot of other makeup artists videos to understand the colour of each new cosmetic I buy and then braille label them at home, it’s a time-consuming process, but it allows me to understand colours and imagine the appearance” (Darling, n.d.).
Another blind consumer stated, “I tend to buy products which are not identical to each other at all with their shape for my ease of use while at home, but this makes me miss out a lot of products from the market, it’s a headache to identify similar packaging” (Personal communication, 2020). It is assumed that a VI or blind person would be able to locate objects at home following personalized home environment principles. However, failure of object detection to locate and identify products at home has been reported. Therefore, having tactile cues within labels, use of scent can help consumers with a better experience (Pradhan & Daniels, 2021)
Dependence on sighted people to cross-check appearance
Blind individuals have been found to play a great deal of attention to their appearance because they know people around them can see them. Yet an obvious and major problem for completely blind users is that there is no way for them to check or confirm their appearance on their own; hence “blind people rely on sighted or partially sighted people to act as their mirrors. And what’s more, sighted people are not exactly ‘reliable’ mirrors” (Peters, M., et. 2017). Reducing the reliance of blind and VI consumers on sighted people, friends and family will help them to achieve a more independent life.
Codesign and Prototyping
I plan to undertake longitudinal co-design sessions with VI/Blind consumers as part of my research. Its objective is to attain information from their previous packaging experiences and allow them to contribute ideas for the best packaging solution for them. I will create prototypes based on the participant’s description of their ideal package. These prototypes will be put to the test with participants. After getting feedback on the prototype, I will revise the design to meet the needs of the users and repeat the prototyping and assessment process until participants desired design is reached. I intend to use this strategy to make the process more inclusive by listening to the needs of the users at each step and iterating the design until the problem is solved.
Multi-sensory Packaging Quiz
This small quiz will assist visitors in recognizing how combining multi-sensory experiences with packaging can assist VI and blind people in effortlessly differentiating products and improving their experience.
Thank you
I hope you enjoyed looking through the research findings and thought about how essential it is to have accessible cosmetic packaging. If you would like to share your feedback, please take a moment to complete the form below. Your participation is completely voluntary! Please note that your responses will help me to understand the effectiveness of my virtual exhibit and will not be used for any other purposes. Thank you for reading!