Creative Design: Undergraduate

“Interpret”: An Adaptive and Gender-Neutral Line for People with Vision Loss

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Abstract

The number of people in the United States who are blind totals 1.02 million; with vision impairment, the number is 3.22 million people in the United States. It is estimated that by2050 the population of blind or vision-impaired individuals (BVI) will double to 2.01 million and 6.95 million, respectively (CDC, 2019). While much progress has been made when providing adaptive apparel for people with disabilities, adaptive apparel focused on accommodating the needs of BVI individuals remains largely ignored in the mass-market segment of the apparel industry. BVI individuals can find garments that include braille tags that help consumers shop for apparel and websites that are accessible and help BVI individuals select apparel. However, access to apparel in the mass-market consumer segment remains elusive for the BVI. Therefore, for this study, an adaptive design was created to respond to the needs of BVI individuals within the mass-market apparel segment. 

Keywords: Disability, adaptive apparel, vision impaired, user-centered design, Adaptive Apparel, Vision Impaired, User-Centered Design, Gender Neutral

How to Cite:

Schrock, L. & McBee-Black, K., (2022) ““Interpret”: An Adaptive and Gender-Neutral Line for People with Vision Loss”, International Textile and Apparel Association Annual Conference Proceedings 79(1). doi: https://doi.org/10.31274/itaa.15820