Visual Communication for The Visual Impaired

visual communication for the

Visual Communication for the Visually Impaired

1

0.5

0.25

0.128

Lim Jun Kiat Zarer (1705582C) Jonas Lee Yao Mian (1701692D) and Ng Min Min (1704015E) Page

1

V

ISU ALLY IMPAIRED

ABSTRACT : Visual Communication for the Visually Impaired

In this report, we will be exploring how the visually impaired view the graphics that are around them.

We will be arguing for the sake of creating a more visually impaired friendly and aware society, so that they will no longer be left confused by graphics that look ambiguous to them.

We would like to normalise the practice of keeping the visually impaired in mind when designing, bring them into the forefront.

We will also bring into light the advantages of keeping in mind the visually impaired, business as well as ethical wise.

Page 4

Visual Communication for the Visually Impaired

SELF PROFILE : This report is done by Lim Jun Kiat Zarer (1705582C), Jonas Lee Yao Mian (1701692D) and Ng Min Min (1704015E) and a group of Year 2 Communication Design students specialising in Illustration, from Temasek Polytechnic.

Through this report we would like to bring forth the importance of accessible visuals in graphic design. As a practicing design student, we feel that it is important to have clear graphics that communicate the intended message clearly and effectively.

We also feel that we can use our position as designers to work towards a more inclusive society, through our field of work, since inclusiveness is very prevalent in our society today.

Page

5

Visual Communication for the Visually Impaired

Contents: 07 08 09 12 14 14

Introduction

Thesis Statement

Visual Impairment - Definition - Types of Visual Impairment

Survey - Survey Results - Survey Interpretation

Causes

Effects

18 20 22 24 26 27 28

Page 6

Interview - General Response

Possible Counter Arguments

Existing Solutions - Enchroma Glasses - Handheld Magnifiers

Solutions - Bringing Awareness to Students - Bringing Awareness to Business

Case Study Kleenex’s Disability Ad Channel 4’s Paralympics Ad

Potential First Change

Conclusion

INTRODUCTION: As a graphic designer, our sole job is to create visual graphics that communicates well to an audience.

Visual Communication for the Visually Impaired

But when 10% of the population feels that they cannot see to their fullest potential, how many people are we missing out when we design graphics that are not friendly towards the visually impaired.

Page

7

Visual Communication for the Visually Impaired

Thesis Statement :

In the graphic design scene, the visually impaired are not very often taken into consideration in a designer-client conversation.

Thus, many a times, graphics produced might not fully cater to the specific needs that a visually impaired person might require, leaving them in the dark.

Page 8

Visual Communication for the Visually Impaired

VISUAL IMPAIRMENT : also known as vision loss, is the decreased ability to see to the degree that causes problems not fixable by conventional means, such as glasses According to the World Health Organization (WHO), there are approximately 285 million visually impaired people worldwide.

When disregarding the blind, as they are not capable of viewing any sorts of graphics at all, it adds up to 217 million people, of which 81% of them are living in developed countries.

Visual impairment may cause people difficulties with normal daily activities, that may seem second nature to most normal sighted people, such as driving, reading, walking and socialising.

Page

9

Types of Visual Impairment Fig.1 Types of Colour Blindness (FullyAwareMind,2017)

COLOUR BLINDNESS :

Visual Communication for the Visually Impaired

Color blindness is not a form of blindness, but a deficiency in the way you see color.

Normal

Protanopia

Deuteranomaly

Tritanopia

Color blindness occurs when lightsensitive cells in the retina fail to respond appropriately to variations in wavelengths of light that enable people to see an array of colors.

The most common form of colour blindness is known as red/green colorblindness. This does not mean sufferers mix up red and green, it means they mix up all colours which have some red or green as part of the whole colour.

Statistically speaking most people with a moderate form of red/green colour blindness will only be able to identify accurately 5 or so coloured pencils from a standard box of 24 pencil crayons.

Fig.2 Diabetic Retihnopathy Sight Example (Centre for Sight,2018)

DIABETIC RETINOPATHY SIGHT : Affects people with diabetes.

Diabetic Retinopathy Sight

Page 10

This happens when high blood sugar levels causes damage to blood vessels in the retina. These blood vessels can swell leak and even close, stopping blood from passing through, stealing from your vision.

Fig.3 PVL (The Canadian Association of Optometrists,2018)

PERIPHERAL VISION LOSS :

Peripheral Vision Loss

Visual Communication for the Visually Impaired

It can be the result of eye “strokes” that block normal blood flow to the eye’s internal structures, including the optic nerve.

Moderate and severe cases of peripheral vision loss create the sensation of seeing through a narrow tube, a condition commonly referred to as “tunnel vision.”

Fig.4 CV I (Singhealth,2014)

CENTRAL VISION LOSS : results from degeneration of the fovea, where visual acuity is the sharpest.

Central Vision l

The most common cause is age-related macular degeneration, which is also the leading cause of blindness in older adults.

Page

11

SURVEY RESULTS :

Visual Communication for the Visually Impaired

We decided to conduct a preliminary survey to support our argument, that the visually impaired are often not taken into regards in the graphic design scene despite it being an area of concern.

The survey was sent out to our fellow design students, who are practicing designers to get their opinions and experience(s) on designing for the visually impaired.

Do you think designing for the visually impaired is important?

NO

(2.7%)

YES

(97.3%)

Fig.5 Survey results (Hi u can see,2018)

Do you take the visually impaired into consideration when designing graphics? (such as posters, etc.)

YES

(16.2%)

NO

(83.8%)

Fig.6 Survey results (Hi u can see,2018)

Page 12

Do you know how to design graphics that can cater to the visually impaired?

NO

(83.8%)

(16.2%)

Fig.7 Survey results (Hi u can see,2018)

SURVEY INTERPRETATION : From these survey responses, we can come to the conclusion that many practicing designers feel that it is important to consider the visually impaired while designing their own material.

However when creating work, the thought of catering to the visually impaired only crosses the mind of a handful of designers and not many will eventually take the extra effort to take measures to alter their work when designing.

On top of that, many respondents are not aware of the “dos and don’ts” of creating a visually impaired friendly graphic material. This supports our point, which is the conversation of designing for the visually impaired is not often brought up in discussions among millennials who are the future of the design industry in years to come.

Page

13

Visual Communication for the Visually Impaired

YES

Visual Communication for the Visually Impaired

3 CAUSES OF THE PROBLEM :

Page 14

LACK OF REPRESENTATION Since the visually impaired are considered a minority, with only 4% of the world recognised as visually impaired. They don’t have the capacity to accurately put out their point of view.

This causes many misinterpretation of the disability among the general public. When people don’t fully understand how a disability can affect somebody’s life, the environment the disabled lives in would not be very friendly towards them.

Thus causing the problem where not enough is being done to cater to their disability. This issue affects the visually impaired as well.

Most clients don’t bring this matter up when hiring graphic designers to do work, because the visually impaired are a minority in the mass market.

According to this paper done (https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/ S0142694X1500054X#)

which conducted a survey with 100 different designers with their clients, it states that many designers report that a lack of client requests for visual accessibility limits the consideration they can give to it.

Clients also hold the misconception that designers will take visual accessibility into account even if it is not in the brief. This suggests that designers and clients may not be communicating effectively.

Personally, for us students, in a school environment, there is close to no talk on the subject of designing for the visually impaired as some may feel that the issue would come more to surface when working in the industry.

Visual Communication for the Visually Impaired

LACK OF DISCUSSION

THE EXTRA STEP When designers create designs that cater to the visually impaired, they have to take an extra step when designing.

For example, for the colorblind, designers can easily neglect them by using colours that are not of high contrast for them to notice differences.

Missing out labels on diagrams can also cause inaccurate assumptions.

This will cause trouble for the visually impaired when interpreting graphics.

Hence, this additional step in the designing process for the visually impaired might be perceived as additional work, a hassle or even a compensation for visual aesthetic.

In today’s society where the topic of inclusiveness and diversity is always talked about, talk of the visually impaired in the design scene should be more prevalent.

Page

15

Visual Communication for the Visually Impaired

3 EFFECTS

EXCLUDING THE MINORITY With posters and graphics designed in a way where visually impaired people are not taken into consideration, they most probably will feel excluded when they are unable to interpret the posters accurately or efficiently.

OF THE

This obliviousness that designers have may also cause the visually impaired to feel as if they are out of the loop.

PROBLEM

In today’s day and age, in the digital era, browsing the web can be extremely difficult for people suffering from visual impairment, when they cannot access or decipher what is on screen.

:

Furthermore, with everybody living their life on the internet, not being able to relate to others can often lead to social and intellectual isolation.

Page 16

When the visuals of a design is not clear to the viewer, much of the intended message can potentially get lost in transition. This may result in miscommunication through the graphic and cause misunderstandings within the consumer.

Since graphic design is undeniably linked to the effective communication of visual information. A graphic designer’s job is primarily to communicate, and send a clear message to the audience, through aesthetically pleasing visuals.

This emphasis on visual communication highlights the importance of visually clear and accessible graphic design, to ensure that visual information is correctly received by the user.

Based on this conducted research, about 240 or more US businesses have been sued for the inaccessibility of their website for the visually impaired since 2015. (https://www.smashingmagazine. com/2017/10/nailing-accessibility-design/)

Clients might be losing quite a significant amount of consumers when they disregard the visually impaired people in the market.

Designers will also not be able to expand their customer intake when they are not willing to make the extra effort to have their designs made communicable to the visually impaired.

The World Health Organization (WHO) identifies 4% of the global population as being visually impaired, 4% as having low vision and 0.6% as being blind. That’s a total of over half a billion people who cannot use your product if it isn’t appropriately accessible.

Currently there is no substantial efforts put into marketing strategies by businesses to include the visually impaired. Hence, we cannot find facts and stats to prove how including the visually impaired will increase their business sales.

However, the fact that we can’t find concrete data to support our point further proves our thesis statement.

Page

17

Visual Communication for the Visually Impaired

CONVEYING WRONG MESSAGES

LOSING OF POTENTIAL MARKET

Visual Communication for the Visually Impaired

Interview : We decided to reach out to those who suffer from any form of visual impairment and get their opinion on the amount of awareness there is for the visually impaired as well as their point of view on the issue.

Page 18

GENERAL RESPONSE :

Visual Communication for the Visually Impaired

Slightly more than half of them stated that they feel as they are excluded from the society and about 78% feel that the general public lack awareness of their impairment.

WHAT ARE WE ARGUING FOR? We want to create awareness on designing for the visually impaired and to generate more discussion on the importance of it, so that more young designers can take the visually impaired into consideration as well, when creating work.

Quoting from a respondent of our interview, named Andre, “The majority of the population do not know severity of the condition”.It proves that there are people who suffer from visual impairment who not only have to deal with their low vision, but also with the ignorance of the society.

Colour blindness is not curable.

Quoting from an anonymous respondent, “Often, reading material,

signage and maps may not be best suited for colour blind people. One clear example would be graphs with colour legends, and faint laser pointers on a projected screen. Both are nearly impossible for me to read.”

This extract from an interviewee shows a clear example of how a visually impaired person struggles in his daily life with things that seem normal for people with regular vision.

Many of them struggle with distinguishing MRT lines, making commuting difficult.

As a nation (Singapore), our progress for the non mainstream people is very slow. Many people consider it the worse place to be if you are handicapped or disabled.

Page

19

Visual Communication for the Visually Impaired

LIMITATION Respondong to:

POSSIBLE COUNTER ARGUMENTS

OF CREATIVE EXPLORATION Some may say that designing with the visually impaired in mind will put a lot of limitation on their creative exploration.

However, if you recapitulate the basis of designing graphic materials, designing graphics is all about relaying the intended message to your audience.

If you’re disregarding 217 million of people of the world, then you’ve failed in executing a designer’s job.

Page 20

NO SUBSTANCIAL DESIGNERS It might seem like there is no apparent benefit for the designers who keep the visually impaired in mind when designing.

However, it is all about the desire to make the society a more inclusive space. It may seem like the extra effort is not as rewarding, the affected is minority after all, here’s a quote from a respondent to the question on the lack of awareness for the visually impaired : “literally no one cares”.

This shows that the visually impaired feels that the society think quite lowly of the visually impaired, and that their impairment is less prominent compared to the other disabilities out there, which is completely wrong because no one’s disability of less importance than the other.

Quoting from an interview with Huzair : “not viewed as serious as other major diseases”.

Visual Communication for the Visually Impaired

BENEFITS FOR

WHAT’S IN IT FOR THE DESIGNER? SELF AWARENESS For the designers, being more cautious when creating work, could help them better understand themselves. Self awareness is very beneficial to a designer, as it aids in their self-development.

A more self-aware designer, would come to realise their shortcomings as well as their strong suits with more ease, which is important for improvement.

When a designer keeps in mind the visually impaired when in practice, they could to realise that their work lack enough contrast or that it falls short in terms of hierarchy, etc.

With self-awareness comes selfdevelopment, when they choose to work on the parts that make them less of a good designer. With that, also comes a great boost in confidence and charisma when applying for jobs as they know where their strength lies, and thus know how to put forth themselves well.

Eventually, everyone knows that with better designers, the client, also known as, the business would benefit from it.

Page

21

Visual Communication for the Visually Impaired

ALREADY EXISTING SOLUTIONS : Currently there are already tools in the market made to aid the visually impaired, such as EnChroma glasses as well as Handheld Magnifiers.

However, such tools act as additional accessories that the visually impaired would have to bring around to aid with the limitations of their visual impairment.

In spite of these developments, we should still try to implement caution when we are creating work, as a designer, so as to reduce the need of the visually impaired to depend on such additional tools.

Page 22

ENCHROMA GLASSES EnChroma glasses are glasses developed for the colourblind to enable them to experience colours, at their fullest vibrancy.

These glasses however, are expensive, at around 350-450 USD a pair, and they are sold for Outdoor and Indoor purposes, meaning that people would have to pay for 2 pairs of glasses to fully aid their colour blindness. (https://enchroma.com)

Fig.9 Handhled Magnifier (Magnifying Aids,2013)

HANDHELD MAGNIFIERS Handheld Magnifiers are typically small, portable devices that can be used to enlarge small print or picture areas such as a restaurant menu, paper money, etc.

Handheld Magnifiers come in several sizes and many have light options. (http://crb1.org/for-families/tools-of-the-blind-and-visuallyimpaired)

Page

23

Visual Communication for the Visually Impaired

Fig.8 Enchroma Glasses (Outloud multimedia,2018)

Visual Communication for the Visually Impaired

SUGGESTED SOLUTIONS : Our suggested solution is to bring more awareness of the visually impaired to both the designers as well as clients, which in this case are the businesses.

Fig.10 Designers at work (Millefeuillemag, 2015)

TO DESIGNERS : Bringing awareness to the designers by educating and creating discussion on such matters like designing for people with visual impairment/disabilities in school, during lessons.

Through implementing it into conversation between lecturers and students, normalizing the fact that we should be mindful of the visually impaired when creating design work.

To bring the issue more into light, we could also hold exchange programmes or even forums for more contact between design students and the visually impaired. When you meet someone with a disability, and interact with them, there might be more of a connection and understanding, sparking a bigger desire to design work that cater to them.

When designing always keep in mind that not everyone in your target audience has the same level of vision.

Older members might be facing issues like cataracts, macular degeneration, or glaucoma. Even younger consumers may have untreated amblyopia or eye teaming. These visual issues make reading challenging. If your audience has trouble just reading the text, the larger marketing message will get lost.

Page 24

Bringing awareness to businesses, of how inclusive marketing can bring about substantial benefits to their brand/ business. Inclusive marketing can be advantageous to both the business as well as and the customer. Catering and including the minority when marketing, can lead to a wider audience and result in gaining more potential customers. The customers can in turn feel more valued, if they were coming from a minority group.

Inclusive marketing is not about making use of minority groups, in culture or race, etc. to better business.

It is not about diversity. It is expanding the company’s target audience and to better the brand experience, it is about how the advertising is perceived by audiences. What bad can come from prioritizing inclusive marketing?

From a business perspective, Inclusive Marketing is going to become increasingly important because the backlash to sexist, racist, ableist, classist, homophobic, and transphobic material is going to get louder and louder.

Inclusive marketing can also result in a feel good response in the customer.

Being inclusive does not only benefit the visually impaired, but also results in a feel good response in the public.

When a customer knows that they are supporting a business that cares for the minority as well, it could make them feel better as they are spending their money on a company that cares more than just soley making money.

Fig.11 Businessmen (Rafi Chowdhury, 2017)

By representing people with disability in their advertising, companies connect more strongly with customers with disability, as well as their families and friends. It also demonstrates support for human diversity in a broader sense. Instead, when brands do not have an inclusive marketing strategy, such marketing campaigns can create social criticisms for disregarding or alienating the minority when brands are campaigning.

Page

25

Visual Communication for the Visually Impaired

TO BUSINESSES :

Visual Communication for the Visually Impaired

HOW INCLUSIVE MARKETING CAN BENEFIT BUSINESS?

CASE STUDY #1 -

Kleenex’s disability ad

Fig.12 Unlikely Best Friends (Kleenex Brand, 2015)

In 2015, this ad was published and had gotten 23 million views on Facebook in less than a week. The ad made use of disabled dogs, to stir up touching emotions in the viewer, causing them to need to Kleenex’s tissues to wipe away their tears.

This example shows how inclusive marketing can help benefit the company by being able to reach out the a large amount of audience and impact them emotionally.

CASE STUDY #2 -

Channel 4’s Paralympics Ad

Fig.13 we’re the Superhumans (Channel 4, 2016)

In 2016, for the Rio Paralympics, Channel 4 launched a disability ad.

The ad featured disabled people living normal lives, showing that the disabled can do anything normal people can.

It caused the games to be sold out for the first time, as well as brought the most amount of viewer traffic to the Channel.

Page 26

POTENTIAL FIRST CHANGE - APPLE

Since Apple is recognised as the leader in terms of innovation in the market, if they made the first move to implement special measures to cater to the visually impaired, they would set a good example for other large enterprises to do the same and set changes.

Fig.14 Apple Logo (Logos Download, 2015)

Page

27

Visual Communication for the Visually Impaired

If there was a enterprise that would ideally put in place, we would like it to be Apple.

Visual Communication for the Visually Impaired

Conclusion:

As graphic designers, our sole trade is to create visual concepts, be it by hand or by computer, to communicate ideas and intentions.

We develop the overall layout, as well as the visual elements for things like products, advertisements, brochures and magazines, etc.

Page 28

Page

Visual Communication for the Visually Impaired

Since it is our job to translate such ideas through visuals, it should be within our morals/work ethics to want to cater to the visually impaired.

Even if they are considered a minority in our targeted audience, we should still have the desire to communicate our concepts accurately and effectively to them.

29

Reference List : Cannes Lions International Festival Of Creativity. (n.d.). (106) WE’RE THE SUPERHUMANS | CHANNEL 4 | 4creative YouTube. Retrieved June 7, 2018, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zgmmWrUKxfg

Visual Communication for the Visually Impaired

A designer’s guide to visual accessibility. (n.d.). Retrieved June 7, 2018, from http://behaviour.studio/formforthought/ how-to-design-for-color-blindness-legibility-accessibility-elderly/ Laing, S., & Masoodian, M. (2016). A study of the influence of visual imagery on graphic design ideation. Design Studies, 45, 187–209. https://doi.org/10.1016/J.DESTUD.2016.04.002 Accessibility, Usability, and Inclusion. (n.d.). Retrieved June 7, 2018, from https://www.w3.org/WAI/intro/usable Accessible Marketing- Are You Missing 38 Million Americans? (n.d.). Retrieved June 7, 2018, from https://brailleworks.com/ accessible-marketing-are-you-missing-38-million-americans/ David Gianatasio. (n.d.). Ad of the Day: Stunning New ‘Superhumans’ Paralympics Spot Goes Well Beyond Sport – Adweek. Retrieved June 7, 2018, from https://www.adweek.com/brand-marketing/ad-day-stunning-new-superhumans-paralympics-spot-goes-well-beyond-sport-172522/ Age-Related Macular Degeneration - Singapore Health Hospitals and Doctors. (n.d.). Retrieved June 7, 2018, from https:// www.singhealth.com.sg/DoctorsAndHealthcareProfessionals/Medical-News/2012/Pages/age-related-macular-degeneration. aspx Awareness Design: The Most Powerful Field for Our Future? | emergent by design. (n.d.). Retrieved June 7, 2018, from https://emergentbydesign.com/2012/06/11/awareness-design-the-most-powerful-field-for-our-future/ Rebecca Cullers. (n.d.). Chance, the Wheelchair-Bound Dog, Will Inspire You to Tears in This Kleenex Ad – Adweek.

Retrieved June 7, 2018, from https://www.adweek.com/creativity/chance-wheelchair-bound-dog-will-inspire-you-tears-kleenex-ad-165647/ Alex Klawitter. (n.d.). Designing for the Visually Impaired. Retrieved June 7, 2018, from http://blog.catmedia.com/designing-visually-impaired Diabetic Retinopathy - Center For Sight. (n.d.). Retrieved June 7, 2018, from http://centerforsightnny.com/eye-conditions/ diabetic-retionpathy/

Page 30