Deconstructing a “puzzle” of visual experiences of blind and low-vision visual artists.

A lot of experiences that come from visual information are often not fully accessible by people with visual impairments (VIPs). Details like subtle facial expressions, physical appearance and atmosphere in the space are not easily perceived by VIPs. Our goal is to design a technological solution to communicate visual details haptically. In order to better understand how visual details are perceived and interpreted by VIPs, we conducted semi-structured interviews with six blind and low vision visual artists. Our interviews focused on understanding how visual information is perceived and reflected in their artwork. We identified four themes that described the participants’ visual experiences in relation to (1) Perception of Physical Attributes, (2) Interactions with Others, (3) Identifying Challenging Environments, (4) Strategies and Challenges of Perceiving the Surroundings. Our findings from this preliminary study will guide the design of a haptic solution.