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Innovations for the Blind

Products & services that cater to visual impairment

Implications - A largely ignored demographic, visually impaired consumers are given few opportunities to participate in sight-friendly activities. Given that 1.5 million blind Americans currently use computers, however, there’s a tremendous opportunity to reach this audience online and a dire need for more innovation in this sector. Products that currently help the blind live more independently or enjoy pop culture include avatars for the blind in virtual worlds, dining-in-the-dark restaurants, electronic gadgets, clothes and games. In the world of science, bionic eyes and solar powered retinal implants are some recent breakthroughs.
Trend Themes
1. Innovation in Accessibility - Advancements in technology are enabling new opportunities for the visually impaired and other groups with physical limitations, leading to new avenues for products and services.
2. Braille Integration - The implementation of braille and other tactile methods is becoming more prevalent, not just for the visually impaired but also as a way to increase accessibility and expand market reach for products and services.
3. Empathy-driven Design - Designers and entrepreneurs are addressing needs of marginalized communities by prioritizing their unique challenges and experiences in the design of products and services
Industry Implications
1. Assistive Technology - Companies focused on creating technology that assists those with disabilities and supports accessibility initiatives.
2. Fashion & Accessories - Designers creating innovative items that integrate braille and other tactile elements to improve accessibility in clothing, jewelry, and other accessories.
3. Food & Entertainment - Restaurants, bars, and entertainment venues creating inclusive experiences for the visually impaired and other underrepresented communities.
5
Score
Popularity
Activity
Freshness
Patterns
Megatrends
20 Featured, 38 Examples:
1,327,587 Total Clicks
Date Range:
Aug 06 — Jul 08
Trending:
Hot
Consumer Insight Topics:

Featured Examples

Braille Tattoos
Braille Tattoos
Body Modifications for the Blind Make Sight and Touch Statements
Braille tattoos are a new innovation that allow the blind to enjoy body modifications too. Klara Jirkova, a student at the University of Arts in Berlin, came up with an innovation to modify the... MORE
Playboy in Braille
Playboy in Braille
Blind people enjoy pornography too. That's what you'll learn when you pick up a copy of Playboy in braille. Although, if you don't know how to read braille, you won't know the difference between an ad… MORE
Braille Wine Bottle
Braille Wine Bottle
Feel your way around the worlds first braille enhanced bottle of wine which is lighting the way for blind wine drinkers everywhere. Although there is a braille wine "label" in existence this is the first… MORE
Braille Watches
Braille Watches
The X-Watch
The X- Watch by Damian Kozlik is a sexy X shaped L.E.D. timepiece that is designed for both sighted and blind people. Blind people can use the X-Watch by moving their fingers along the graduated watch… MORE
Porn For The Blind
Porn For The Blind
Naughty Reading for the Visually Impaired
I never stopped to consider how the visually impaired surfed the Internet. But what about porn? Do the braille outputs resemble the image seen here or does a robotic voice whistle or say "what a woman!"?… MORE
Avatars For The Blind
Avatars For The Blind
Irish IBM Students Brighten Second Life
The blind demographic has been missing out on simulated life in the virtual world, but Irish IBM students hope to change that. “The students have designed an audio equivalent of the virtual world using… MORE
Camera for the Blind
Camera for the Blind
Touch Sight
The Touch Sight is a brilliant concept camera for the visually impaired. It records sounds and transfers images via 3D embossing technology so that people who can't see will still have a recording of the… MORE
play_circle_filledBraille Graffiti
Braille Graffiti
Art For The Blind
Graffiti has been a practice since the discovery of the cave wall, though it has never gained general recognition. People either see it as vandalism or an art form. But there is one group of people that… MORE
Braille Wallpaper
Braille Wallpaper
Textile Wall Coverings by Ilias Fotopoulos Tell a Story
Sydney-based designer Ilias Fotopoulos was once a lawyer, who became a textile designer. His current wallpaper collections “Mistreatment” and “On Closer Inspection” inspire touch and observation.… MORE
Controverisal Fashion for the Blind
Controverisal Fashion for the Blind
Braille Tees
If one day you decide to wear the Blind Tee, designed by Barbara Loomis, do not blame the visually-impaired for reaching out to touch your breasts. Chances are, he only wants to decipher the message written… MORE
Painting for the Blind
Painting for the Blind
‘Touch Colour' Uses Heat Identifiers to Pick Hues & Create Art
‘Touch Colour’ is a revolutionary painting tool for the blind. It uses special technology that associates different colours with different temperatures in order to properly identify them. The ‘Touch Colour’… MORE
Beer for the Blind
Beer for the Blind
Leave it to the Germans to find the only unexploited niche in the beer market: the blind! Dusseldorf's Uerige beer, one of the world's finest, is now releasing new bottles with a braille label. Thus,… MORE
Braille Mobile Phones
Braille Mobile Phones
Seonkeun Park Creates a Mobile for the Visually Impaired
There are many mobiles out there that have been created for the visually impaired, but here is a design concept by Seonkeun Park that is more simplistic than the rest. The Braille Phone concept is shaped… MORE
PDA For The Blind
PDA For The Blind
GW Micro VoiceSense
What makes this personal digital assistant suitable for the blind? It has a Perkins-style keyboard. This keyboard, designed by David Abrahams in 1951, has 6 keys that represent each of the six dots in… MORE
Braille E-Books
Braille E-Books
The Perfect Gadget for Visually-Impaired Readers
This Braille E-Book concept by Seon-Keun Park, Byung-Min Woo, Sun-Hye Woo and Jin-Sun Park is an empowering gadget for visually impaired readers. It’s an e-book reader equipped with EAP technology and… MORE
play_circle_filledBraille Measuring Devices
Braille Measuring Devices
The Tikk-Tekk Rainbow is Designed for the Blind
The Tikk-Tekk Rainbow Measuring Device is designed for the visually-impaired and uses audible sounds to track measurements. Two rings are slipped over the two index fingers and a measuring stick in between… MORE
play_circle_filledBraille Mobile Phones
Braille Mobile Phones
Zhenwei You's 'B-Touchphone' Gives Technological Sight to the Blind
The B-Touch mobile phone is a revolutionary step in communication. Designed by Zhenwei You, the B-Touch is a phone for the blind. The phone comes equipped with a braille touchscreen for interactive usage… MORE
Visuals for the Blind
Visuals for the Blind
Brain Port Becomes Commercially Available Soon
Brain Port is a handy device for people who are visually impaired, as it creates images for them to see. The gadget allows the blind to see the beauty of this colorful world by sending electric impulses… MORE
Braille Book Readers
Braille Book Readers
The Haptic Reader Concept Brings Basic Books to Life for the Visually Impaire
The Haptic Reader concept is an interesting take on book translation for the blind. Instead of reading the text aloud, the scanner-like device is placed over the pages of a book and converts the text to… MORE
Blind Poetry
Blind Poetry
Australian Designers Create Braille Jewellery Line
Artist Andy Uprock used to roam the streets of Sydney, Australia putting up his poetry in Braille; in doing so, he created a form of graffiti for the blind. That is the inspiration behind his Braille jewellery… MORE

Related Examples

Braille Mobiles
Braille Mobiles
The Universal Phone Designed for the Blind
15 E-Book Innovations
15 E-Book Innovations
Electronic Reading, From Smartphones to Braille
22 Braille Innovations
22 Braille Innovations
Making it Possible for the Blind to See, from Phones to Playboy
play_circle_filledHigh Tech Measuring
High Tech Measuring
Shay Shafranek Gives Electronic Ease to Ruler Design
Magnetic Measuring Spoons
Magnetic Measuring Spoons
Joseph Joseph's Kitchenware is Functional and Fun
Tattoos for the Blind
Tattoos for the Blind
Braille Ink Offers Another Dimension of Body Design
Fairytale-Inspired Jewellery
Fairytale-Inspired Jewellery
Reinventing Alice in Wonderland Through Accessories
Sightless Drivers
Sightless Drivers
Virginia Tech Students Fix Up a Buggy to be Operated by the Blind
play_circle_filledGuide Dog GPS
Guide Dog GPS
Peepo Device is a Safe Way to Expand Travel for the Blind
Humans as Bats
Humans as Bats
CASBliP Aids the Blind By Using a Sound Map
Insightful Packaging Campaigns
Insightful Packaging Campaigns
Blind Foundation Guerrilla Grocery Ads Highlight Lack of Braille
Blind Photographers
Blind Photographers
Visually Impaired Artists Find Their Vision Through the Lens
Braille Watches
Braille Watches
‘Feel the Time' Lets You Tell Time by Touch
Braille Label Makers
Braille Label Makers
Innovative Design Creates Stickers for Visually Impaired
Textured Wall Accents
Textured Wall Accents
Depth Charge Your Interior Decor With 3D Wallpaper
36 Innovative Measuring Devices
36 Innovative Measuring Devices
From Celebrity Scales to Measuring Tape Toilet Paper
Weird Measuring Devices
Weird Measuring Devices
10 Peculiar Rulers To Prove Size Does Matter
31 Modern Wallpapers
31 Modern Wallpapers
From Heat-Sensitive to Glow-in-the-Dark Decor
31 Eye Opening Innovations for the Blind
31 Eye Opening Innovations for the Blind
Cell Phones for the Blind
Cell Phones for the Blind
Nokia knfbReader Mobile
Measuring Stick Condoms
Measuring Stick Condoms
Condometrics Reveal the Truth
Braille Textured Home Decor
Braille Textured Home Decor
The Love Is Blind Vase
Braille PIN Cards
Braille PIN Cards
Visual Assistance Cards for the Blind
Landmark Jewellery
Landmark Jewellery
Bliss Lau Draped Chain Inspired by Brooklyn Bridge
Industrial Materials as Jewellery
Industrial Materials as Jewellery
Oil Filter and Electrical Cable Necklaces
Floating Fence Graffiti
Floating Fence Graffiti
Cuprocking by Andy Uprock
Chic Recycled Jewellery
Chic Recycled Jewellery
Holly Anne Mitchell's Newspaper Jewellery
Measuring Tape Toilet Paper
Measuring Tape Toilet Paper
A Trend That Rules
Measuring the "Greeness" of Lawns
Measuring the "Greeness" of Lawns
The Grass Scanner
Measuring Tape Bedsheets
Measuring Tape Bedsheets
Designwise Sheets Stop Blanket Stealing
Phones for the Disabled
Phones for the Disabled
Braille and Surface Scanner Cell Phones
DIY Braille
DIY Braille
AccuBraille Adds Dots Everywhere
Measuring Towel
Measuring Towel
Comfortable Weight Management
Implant Restores Sight to the Blind
Implant Restores Sight to the Blind
Artificial Cornea
Braille Neck Ties
Braille Neck Ties
Braille Architecture
Braille Architecture
Love is Blind by Jessica Lertvilai of Vest Collective
Industrial Jewellery
Industrial Jewellery
ToolboxChic
$10 Hand-Held Braille Writer
$10 Hand-Held Braille Writer