There are different levels of accessibilities.
Working with the Andrew Heiskell Braille and Talking Book Library  in New York City, Tactile 101 is a website with tutorials of TactileView, a software for visually-impaired groups to create tangible tactile graphs.

The goal is to make the learning of the basic use ofTactileView accessible and easy to follow for people with different levels of blindness.

Background

  • Limited tactile graphics for the blind community
  • TactileView generates and prints out customised tactile graphics for visually impaired people
  • Two existing working flow in the library for publics to learn this technology: collaboration between blind and sighted & blind people working alone

    • My Role

  • Setting objectives and design solutions
  • Participated in field observations, contextual inquires and stakeholder interviews
  • Conducted user research and evaluated the findings
  • Setting and co-creating content of the tutorials

    • Understanding the User

    Primary Users: Visually-impaired Library Residents
    Secondary Users: Blind first-time vistors to the Library

    Goal: To find out the difficulties encountered by people with different levels of proficiency when learning the TactileView software, and to determine the most desirable features of the product.

    Process: We conducted in-depth semi-structured interviews with three of our primary users.

    Interview Findings
  • TactileView: mostly used for art and design purposes
  • Brailes: not accessible to all blind population
  • Audio and screen reader: an easier way of learning TactileView if not inherently blind
  • Real-time graphics and immediate feedback: helpful for learning
  • Users should feel encouraging and fun when learning


    • User Research & Evaluation

    Goal: To find out the pain points for learning the TactileView software, and to build the MVP (Minimum Viable Product).

    Process: Following the interviews, we then conducted a contextual innquiry with User A by observing him using the TactileView software in the library.

    Observations

  • User felt confused about conducting basic commands on Windows system because she was used to the Mac system
  • User did not know how to start screen reader or change the canvas size
  • User was not sure if the image she copied would fit the canvas size

    • Evaluations on MVP

  • Format: flexible
  • Content: learning basic commands of copying and creating simple graphics
  • Flow: Engaging and interactive over linear routine-like instructions
  • Purpose: highlighting the importance and boosting interests of the TactileView

    • Final Design Solution

    Content Inventory

    Tutoral Part 1: Importing Images
    Introductory tutorial (text document) about importing images into the TactileView.

    Tutoral Part 2: Creating Graphics
    A comprehensive text document with supporting images that explain about using the TactileView to create a graphic.

    Progressions & Future Refinements
  • Now: Text-based tutorials with images on the website
  • Then: better audio experience with clear visual-textual instructions
  • Future: integration with the current TactileView software