Challenge Workshop, COT 2007
Team D
Subject
Alison has a visual impairment. She is fashion conscious, does not use a long cane and dislikes ironing. She told the team that when rushed, she has often left the house in clothes that are inside out or the wrong way round. Fastenings are a problem. When using buttons, she often finds she has buttoned the garment irregularly. She also wanted to detect how far away people or car headlights are.
Brief
To tackle the issue of visibility and ease of identifying which way clothes should be worn.
Concept
A range of solutions were designed including:
- A bag with reflective strips to act as a visual aid, where the reflective strips can be placed on the bag, depending on what side of the body the bag is being worn
- User proximity sensors incorporated into a clipable device that vibrates the closer Alison gets to someone (i.e. worn as bracelets, belts, broaches or clipped to shoes) and powered by a rechargeable battery
- Options for buttons to include making each button and hole a different texture, or colour coded, or a different size
- Two-sided garments with hidden seams or making the seam a feature so that it is reversible and can be worn either way
- Non-creasing fabric.
