Visually-impaired users and product interaction: a study on the interfaces of washing machines, vacuum cleaners and irons


Tezin Türü: Yüksek Lisans

Tezin Yürütüldüğü Kurum: Orta Doğu Teknik Üniversitesi, Mimarlık Fakültesi, Endüstriyel Tasarım Bölümü, Türkiye

Tezin Onay Tarihi: 2006

Öğrenci: TÜLAY ÖZKAN

Danışman: NAZ AYŞE GÜZİDE Z. BÖREKÇİ

Özet:

The appearance of the electrical appliances has undergone a dramatic change in many aspects since the 1920’s. Throughout years, along with their changed appearance, the way the appliances are perceived has altered. The interface of domestic products is mainly dominated by visual elements. Undoubtedly, the domination of the visual perception in the interfaces of the appliances might cause complications in the interaction between the product and visually impaired users. In this thesis, the interaction between the electrical household appliances and visually impaired user is examined to identify the strong points in the interaction as well as any complications that may occur during the interaction. Observations were conducted with ten users to explore the interaction between the visually impaired users and three electrical domestic appliances: washing machine, vacuum cleaner and iron. The findings of the observations indicate that visually impaired users can operate their appliances, with some limitations. Yet a number of common problematic points related to the interface elements, which hinder from using their electrical appliances with full functionality, were encountered. At the end of the study, a list of design recommendations, some of which offered in the literature previously, are suggested.