“Follow the right wall”

A simple enough task, right? If we wanted to, we could just run alongside the walls from start to end, no problem. However, when I entered the pitch black space that is Dialogue in the Dark, I realised it wasn’t as easy as it seemed, not when you’re visually impaired.

Having my eyes opened or closed made no difference in the dark, and even though the guide told us that there were no steps or curbs, I was cautious the entire way, paranoid that I would trip over something if I walked to fast. Heck, I couldn’t even walk at a normal pace. Some say that losing one sense heightens the others. From this experience, I would say it’s more of how we are forced to take notice and rely heavily on our our sense to get from one place to another, since we don’t have visuals. Throughout the visit, I used my sense of touch and hearing most (my nose was little to no help in identifying the spices on display in the supermarket section). As much as it was worrisome to accidentally collide into someone/something, I was fascinated whenever I was able to identify and objects/surfaces just by feeling their textures.

 

From this experience, I feel that role play allowed me to put myself in a visually-impaired’s shoes; to experience everyday life as they do through touch, sound, and smell (and I guess taste too, but like, more on those other three). It also reminded me that visuals aren’t everything, that there are many other elements that we can play around with in design.

 

Overall, I feel that role play allows us to empathise more with the audience we wish to cater to / work with. Be it person who is pregnant, wheelchair bound, or has a prosthetic limb, everyone experiences the world in a different way. As such, design shouldn’t have a one-size-fits-all template. As such, role play helps us find out exactly what elements work best in different situations.