The design seen above has been an individual effort by myself so I can visualise what me and my assignment partner Thomas Lett are trying to lead towards. This can be seen as a starting design. This is a very basic design with little detail which will help me and Thomas channel our good, solid ideas towards the "hands on" prototyping phase.
The possible name of the device
I came up with the name Visifone as it contains what the whole device entails. "Visi" from the word visual connoting the fact the phone is dedicated towards those who need visual aid and "fone" as this is the main function of the device. It is spelled "fone" and not "phone" as this links to text/sms spelling language which people now relate to more than ever it can also be said "fone" is used purely for future marketing reasons.
Colours and aesthetics
Before all functions are described I opted to choose the aesthetics for the design. As you see from the shape I want the device to have nice curved and rounded contours. This is so the device has no sharp and dangerous edges for any users to injure themselves with.
The handle on the device is shaped like a gun grip. This is because when I had a conversation with someone who was blind and someone who was partially sighted they both agreed that the grip on the device was important and that a normal mobile phone shape would be tough to use as it would slip out of their hands too often. The "gun handle" shape is used so it can be gripped comfortably but also reduce the chances the device will slip from a users hand. This handle may be amended or changed in future designs due to the iconography it has with weapons. The handle and design itself I think will be changed considerably as one major flaw in the design is
The overall shape is designed to be light, neutral but very practical with huge amounts of usability. The colour itself was inspired by the pure, crisp, neutral, un-tainted, wholesome colour of the original white and grey coloured iPods which are iconic in this era of technology.
The Keypad functionality
The keypad will contain Braille embossed keys so that the Braille can be felt easily by the user. The keypad also contains numbers. The user will have a choice of interchangeable key cover. One will have the Braille for the fully blind users and another key cover with large numbers and letters for the partially sighted folks.
The on and off keys are bigger than the rest this was justified when I spoke to a partially sighted person and a blind person and they both agreed that on conventional mobile phone devices the on and off key was always the smallest keys and it was hidden on the side of the device and hard to find.
Not seen in the image - I have thought of the idea of quick function keys such as a button for sms and call lists but this could be used for the stylus / touch screen function which would be hidden in the top right of the device.
The Touch Screen pad and Stylus
The stylus would be situated inside the device itself (top right) and be seated like the stylus on the Nintendo DS but a smaller version. The stylus would be on a draw string which would click when fully extended out of the device and if dropped this draw string would stop the user from losing the stylus.
The touch screen pad is the screen below the main display screen. This would be small but effective. The stylus would be used in conjunction with this pad and the user would be able to signify movements on the pad to make things happen on the device e.g. a number 1 is drawn on the touch pad, the phone would navigate to the number 1 section on the menu list - call and contacts.
The Main Screen
The main screen is situated above the touch screen pad. This screen would be navigated by a number of ways -
1 - Voice activated
2 - Stylus movements on the touch screen pad
3 - Keypad number shortcuts
The colours on the main screen are very bright but can be seen easily so that partially sighted people can signify which colour means which section on the phones interface.
Not seen on the image - The phone would also have a zoom function and screen reader which could be used at the users pleasure. The phone would also have slots for inclusion of extra memory on the device and also headphone / hands free earphone sockets.
In my next blog post I will discuss the estimated measurements of this device , alongside a new edited image with more functionality.
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