Tactile Maps for IUPUI
This was a group project where we had to find an issue with campus and try to find a solution; we found that IUPUI isn't very inclusive to visually impaired students on campus, especially when it came to finding their way through buildings.
We got into contact with Indiana University's Adaptive Educational Services, where we were able to talk to the lead designers of tactile maps for IU Bloomington, where we got information on what would work best to make the experience for visually impaired more pleasant. After this we found that creating interior tactile maps would better help these students navigate individual buildings. To start for our prototype we began designing the interior of Herron, the building we were most familiar with.
First we designed the map on Rhino 7 to prepare for 3D printing, we soon came to find out that this wouldn't work and moved on to Adobe Illustrator to prepare for laser engraving.
We had previously sent out a newsletter to visually impaired students in hopes of getting participants to prototype our design, and that's where we met Lexi, a legally blind senior at IUPUI.
Lexi was very happy to hear that we were doing this project, and gave us great feedback on what was legible and what to fix. We are in the process of making these changes and presenting the concept to Adaptive Education Services at IUPUI to hopefully get this implemented.
