Creative Design: Professional

Beyond Functionality: Fashionable Adaptive Footwear for Individuals with Vision Impairment

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Abstract

This design scholarship aims to address the existing gap in footwear designs for VI individuals and explore new techniques to meet their needs. It focuses on three goals: Firstly, individuals with disabilities desire equal opportunities as those without disabilities. In the past, designers used braille on footwear primarily for functionality and did not consider it as a design element. This footwear design investigates techniques to merge aesthetics with functionality by incorporating braille as an embellishment and surface design. Secondly, this design scholarship focuses on using braille correctly and according to standards. Previous footwear designs for VI individuals often overlooked the specific measurement requirements for braille. Thirdly, previous footwear designs for VI individuals used braille to convey messages unrelated to relevant footwear information. This design scholarship aims to utilize braille to provide VI individuals with essential information about this footwear, such as size, materials, and country of origin. 

Keywords: Footwear, Vision-Impairment, Surface Design, Inclusive Design

How to Cite:

Aflatoony, L., (2024) “Beyond Functionality: Fashionable Adaptive Footwear for Individuals with Vision Impairment”, International Textile and Apparel Association Annual Conference Proceedings 80(1). doi: https://doi.org/10.31274/itaa.17123