The functional experience of low vision is impacted by the designed environment. Due to the many permutations of vision loss, there can be no single solution to meet the needs of users in an environment. To identify a course of action when designing for the visually impaired, it is pertinent to first identify and describe the many types of low-vision design. The primary method is a review of expert testimony, medical references, and existing prescriptive standards and guidelines. The purpose is to provide an interpretation of how persons with a variety of vision impairments experience their environment. A typological model is used to organize the findings of this qualitative study. A situational typology of low-vision design is divided into subtypes identified from primary and secondary sources. Four major categories are determined by the overarching design features that created barriers to visual accessibility. These categories are Luminance Contrast, Value Contrast, Luminance Placement, and Object Placement. Within these categories, a total of 14 individual types are further identified that describe the slight variations between design problems within the typology system. These categories and types are defined and supplemented with photographs, luminance analysis, and design recommendations that are not specific to a building type or task. This paper uses typology theory to create a visual rhetoric of lowvision design needs and provides a set of design guidelines for improving interior spaces for the visually impaired.
The present study aimed to investigate the appropriate level of value contrast in built environments, including the ratio of dark value to light value color, to enable people with low vision to distinguish elements more readily from the surroundings. The study included a total of 20 participants from four locations in Texas. Participants received a two-part questionnaire: Part 1 recorded demographic information including age, gender, and visual acuity; Part 2 presented the central questions of the study relating to given images. All of the participants agreed that high value contrast images with at least 60% variance between the dark and light values were very easy to see. Participants also indicated that medium value contrast images with a variance of 30% were recognizable. Most of the participants also indicated a preference for light value to dark value in a built environment.
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