Study on the Design of a Water Dispenser for Visually Impaired Families

Qiong Shen, Feng Zhou, Yichen Wang, Shiyuan Tang and Pengyu Zhang
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Qiong Shen: College of Mechanical Engineering, Donghua University, Shanghai 201620, China
Feng Zhou: College of Mechanical Engineering, Donghua University, Shanghai 201620, China
Yichen Wang: Industrial Design Apartment, School of Design, Pratt Institute, 200 Willoughby Ave, Brooklyn, New York, NY 11205, USA
Shiyuan Tang: College of Mechanical Engineering, Donghua University, Shanghai 201620, China
Pengyu Zhang: College of Mechanical Engineering, Donghua University, Shanghai 201620, China

Sustainability, 2022, vol. 14, issue 4, 1-14

Abstract: In visually impaired families, there are different needs in terms of the access to drinking water, and the existing research on the design of water dispensers is insufficient. In order to solve this problem, a diverse analysis, based on the inclusive design concept, of household users’ operating abilities and water dispenser preferences was carried out. Subsequently and guided by the analysis, a new water dispenser product was developed. The methods used to extrapolate the needs of visually impaired families were observation and interviews, while the questionnaire research was used to understand the user preferences. Secondly, the accessibility of the existing water dispenser was tested for visually impaired, elderly, middle-aged, and young users in the visually impaired family. Three design strategies were proposed that combine the needs and product preferences of the users: the multimode simplification of steps, water quality detection, and adaptive multichannel feedback. The water dispenser was redesigned on the basis of these. On the premise of meeting the different abilities of the users in visually impaired families, the design practice improves the users’ experience of water dispensers, and provides a practical method reference that has value for related product designs.

Keywords: inclusive design; visually impaired families; water dispenser; user diversity (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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