Design solutions for the dark

All of us, at one time or another, have suffered the misery of poorly-designed objects: the spill-proof bottle that leaks, the vase with a poor centre of gravity, an inaccessible computer jack. If, however you are visually impaired or blind, even well-designed objects can be a misery. A new exhibition, currently underway at the National Technical Museum - in conjunction with the Prague City museum - addresses the problem of design in everyday objects for the visually impaired. It presents new solutions where there have often been few in the past.

Design for the Dark is one of those exhibitions that will stay in your mind for months: the culmination of a year's work by over a hundred students from twelve different schools, addressing the problems of the blind. Objects they designed are for the "everyday": kitchenware, household utensils, clothes, and even games such as chess or Pexeso (memory game). A combination of proper as well as sensitive aesthetic choices - consulted extensively with specialists from Prague's Institute for the rehabilitation of the visually impaired and the blind, and fine-tuned with the co-operation of blind subjects themselves, helped make objects accessible for the non-sighted. Lenka Zizkova was the project's curator:

"In this project it's important to stress that function gained precedence over all other design elements. The young designers who took part needed to address specific needs of the blind and that was something they had to incorporate fully. They couldn't just let their imagination go wild."

A simplification and balance of various design elements make various items accessible to those on whom they would otherwise be lost. Punchy buttons, Braille text, well-defined edges, but also the use of sound and colour, are all addressed. The last is extremely important considering how many visually impaired retain some sight, whose lives can be significantly improved by the right balance of colour and light. Shades that are easier to discern, for example, include pastel greens and pinks as opposed to, say, white on white. In practice, a white plate on a white tabletop is virtually invisible to the poor-of sight.

Viktor Dudr, from Czech Blind United, was one of those consulted on the project. He told me he was very pleased with the results.

"Co-operation between the schools in consultation with the blind and experts was also very important and constructive indeed. The students had great ideas and I am really excited by some of the projects on display."

Currator Lenka Zizkova also views the project as a success, saying it was very interesting on the whole to see the impact design for the blind had on students' lives:

"Working within such limits, they realised design's full worth. Helping people who did not even expect it. It was an intense project and individual's designs had to go through extensive development and repeated changes. They really gave it their all."

There are an estimated 100, 000 visually impaired and blind people in the Czech Republic and it's obvious most would benefit from a wider availability of products meeting their needs. Those behind Design for the Dark would now like to see at least a few manufacturers take interest in licensing some of the products on display. The exhibit features only proto-types for now, but it's possible that some of the designs could be picked up in the future for wider release.

For more information please visit www.muzeumprahy.cz