LAVI JamSesh
Created a collaborative musical interaction for visually impaired participants by building an accessible audio-visualizer. To ensure inclusivity, I interviewed the client to understand the participants’ abilities, adaptive equipment, and personal interests.
Client: LAVI: Learning Adventures For the Visually Impaired (part of the Western Pennsylvania School for Blind Children)
Team: Riya Mody, Sri Lakshmi Pakhala, Xinyi Tang
User testing of JamSesh with LAVI participants and staff members
Research
Why Music?
From observing different LAVI activities, we noticed visible engagement levels differed significantly between participants. However, when music was involved, all participants’ engagement increased dramatically.
Building an understanding of how participants used adaptive equipment such as switches and Tobiis and their utilization of sound informed the functional requirements of our creation.
Design
Design Considerations for Cortical Visual Impairment
Red and yellow are the colors most visible to those with CVI, therefore we ensured they could be utilized in our prototyping and design.
Showing non-cluttered visuals against high-contrast backgrounds (usually black) is a technique used to increase visibility for CVI.
Objects in motion are much more visible than static images for those with CVI.
Why it was hard
Code
Although none of us were coders, we dove into existing resources, learned as we went, and ultimately brought our vision to life together.
Consent
Working with a vulnerable population taught us how to minimize risk and uphold ethical standards by obtaining informed consent when necessary through a Legally Authorized Representative, in compliance with IRB guidelines.