The Help: My Bibliography

The following are all the websites I have used for my desk research:


http://www.explainthatstuff.com/how-augmented-reality-works.html

http://www.augment.com/how-augmented-reality-works/

http://computer.howstuffworks.com/augmented-reality.htm

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Computer_vision

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Outline_of_object_recognition

http://wearecolorblind.com/article/guest-article-a-mothers-journey-into-colorblindness/

http://www.toledo-bend.com/colorblind/aboutCB.asp

http://www.color-blindness.com/2009/01/06/50-facts-about-color-blindness/\

http://www.allaboutvision.com/conditions/colordeficiency.htm

http://www.colourblindawareness.org/colour-blindness/living-with-colour-vision-deficiency/

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/26263559_Digital_enhancement_of_haematoxylin-_and_eosin-stained_histological_images_for_red-green_colour-blind_observers

http://www.colourblindawareness.org/colour-blindness/types-of-colour-blindness/

http://webdesign.tutsplus.com/articles/designing-for-and-as-a-color-blind-person--webdesign-3408

http://jfly.iam.u-tokyo.ac.jp/color/


Finally: Special thanks to Prof. Kuntal De, Karan Gautam and Lalit Baveja for their help through the project.

Epilogue: What I Learnt

This was one of the most important courses I've done this year. After completing it I realised that design isn't just about making things that look cool or randomly stumbling upon solutions. Using an organised structure is the most efficient way to find problem areas and in turn solutions to those problems.

I'd like to thank my mentor for this project, Prof. Kuntal De, for introducing me to his methods as these are extremely important tools that I will continue to use in my career.

I've also learnt a little bit about how disabilities can make a person's daily life difficult, but also that it is our job as designers to find efficient solutions for them.

Special thanks to Karan Gautam for his insight on the problems faced by colour-blind people. My process would be incomplete without it.

Final Post: The Solution

My working concept is a phone application that uses Augmented Reality to optimise PPT Graphics and Text in real time making them Colour-blind Friendly.

Basic functioning: The app uses the phone camera to:

• Detect forms in PPT info graphics converting coloured forms into patterns. (Automatically Detects Sectors, Bars etc.)
• Detects Text on screen, Gives black borders to white text and vice-versa.

The device uses MSER Detector for Text and OCR Engines for Form Detection.

Here is a mock-up of what it'll look like:

Feature Building Analysis: Augmented Reality

After acquiring enough Data on the subject for my solution I plotted the information on a Feature Building Analysis to highlight the features which are useful to me:
(Yellow: Features, Red: Gaps, Green: Upgrades, Blue: Results)

Now that I have enough information on the features available, I can use them in my Final Concept.

Brainstorming For a Solution

To explore possible solutions, I made a newmind map, adding content from my desk research and further exploring visual solutions to try to make a connection:

By exploring Digital Graphics, I came to Augmented Reality. I connected it's aspects Object Recognition to "Patterns Instead of Colour" (A guideline explained earlier) and "Text Recognition" to "Contrasting Text". This all connects to " Mobile Interface ". This made me come to a solution which would be an Augmented Reality Mobile App to Optimise PPT Graphics in real-time. (Using the phone camera). I will further research AR to experiment with this solution. 

Desk Research: PPT Design for Colour-blind Audiences

As established earlier, Colour-blind audiences have a major inconvenience in viewing PPT presentations. Here is a basic example:

Normal Vision

Deuteranopia

There are several existing guidelines to making PPTs colour-blind friendly. Some are: 

Infographics: Do not just use different colours, add a simple pattern or texture to make it easy to distinguish,

Text: Text with low contrast, especially small in size can be unclear or even impossible to view. Use contrast and try using white with black border if possible as that font can be distinguished from any colour/background. 

I shall use these tips while Brainstorming for my final solution.

Desk Research: General Tips

There are many things that one should keep in mind when designing for a colour-blind audience. Here are some solution tools found in my desk research:

Monochromatic Colours: Use a single colour in multiple shades, or use black/very dark shade the colour. This is easy for a colour-blind person to distinguish and may bing unity to your design. Using Grey scale colour scheme is also a good idea.

High Contrast: High Contrast in text and background offers Colour-blind viewers a improved readability.

Playing with Hue, Saturation and Brightness: Shows definition and is better distinguishable without even using multiple colours, The designer can stick to a small set of colours, (Maybe even one) and just change the Saturation, Hue and Brightness.

Simulate CB: Online tools such as Colour Laboratory allow you to see how your design will look to colour-blind people by adding a filter. This can help you decide what colours to use while getting real-time feedback.