ABSTRACT
In this chapter, we address the impact of empathy when designing for blind and partially sighted people. Further, we discuss our experiences on how to engage students when starting a new project in an eye-opening physical empathy exercise. We also explore the impact of using an empathy experience in group work and in the design process. One way to get to know the users is to visit their everyday life and to try to experience their joys and frustrations. We transformed ski goggles into empathy goggles for several eye diseases and blindness. Inspired by blind and partially sighted people, the task was to produce a prototype of wearables for a concept that would help them in their everyday life, yet would also be of interest for anyone to use. Our ambition was to teach empathy to better understand the everyday life of the end users of this interesting, yet vulnerable user group.
