What Not to Wearable: Using Participatory Workshops to Explore Wearable Device Form Factors for Blind Users
Michele A. Williams, Erin Buehler, Amy Hurst, Shaun K. Kane · 2015 · Proceedings of the 12th International Web for All Conference (W4A) · doi:10.1145/2745555.2746664
Summary
This paper documents two participatory design workshops conducted with a team of eight visually impaired adults to explore features and form factors for a wearable navigation device. The research team met monthly over nine months as a "design team," with two sessions dedicated to hands-on prototyping. Activity 1 used low-fidelity prototyping with craft and office supplies (cardboard, clay, Velcro, pipe cleaners, Braille label maker), while Activity 2 used medium-fidelity prototyping with electronic components from the Microsoft .NET Gadgeteer toolkit alongside a structured scenario-based approach. The participants ranged in age from 30 to 66, included both congenitally blind individuals and those with gradual vision loss, and all had navigation training and independent travel experience. The study was motivated by the high rates of assistive technology abandonment when user preferences are not considered early in design, and by the need for hands-free navigation solutions since blind users typically already occupy one hand with a white cane or guide dog harness.
Key findings
The low-fidelity session produced three prototypes (two neck-worn tactile map devices and a clip-on camera) but participants were hesitant to physically construct prototypes themselves, instead describing ideas verbally while a researcher built them. The medium-fidelity session with electronic components and scenario-based structure was significantly more successful at engaging participants — smaller groups of three, tangible electronic materials, and directed scenarios produced more concrete and detailed designs. Both groups independently converged on remarkably similar designs: a neck-worn device featuring a camera for indoor navigation, GPS and compass for outdoor use, touchpad and speech input, and vibration plus speech output. Key user preferences emerged: devices must not be too large, heavy, or visually conspicuous; participants benchmarked acceptable size against familiar devices like iPhones and BookSense players; wireless Bluetooth was preferred over visible headphone jacks to avoid drawing attention; buttons should be recessed to prevent wear; and all ports should be on one side to help determine device orientation. Watches were rejected due to concerns about attractiveness, usability under clothing, and interference with holding a mobility aid.
Relevance
This research provides practical methodological guidance for conducting participatory design with blind and visually impaired users — a population often excluded from standard visual prototyping methods like sketching. The key finding that medium-fidelity tangible materials with structured scenarios generate better engagement than open-ended low-fidelity crafting is directly actionable for accessibility researchers and product designers. The social stigma concerns expressed by participants — preferring devices that blend in rather than stand out — highlight an important and often underappreciated factor in assistive technology adoption that goes beyond functional requirements. The convergence of both groups on similar designs suggests that the methodology successfully captured genuine user needs rather than researcher-led preferences, demonstrating the value of including disabled users as active design partners rather than passive test subjects.
Tags: wearable technology · participatory design · blind users · navigation · assistive technology · prototyping · co-design · form factor design