Art making can be a relaxing, engaging activity that anyone can enjoy. But painting and drawing can be difficult for visually impaired people, since these artforms require visual feedback to appreciate one's creative work.
Sculpture is a more apt form of art for blind artists to practice and appreciate, because three dimensional artworks possess tactile qualities that can be felt without the need for vision.
Inherent danger keeps sculpture tools from being more accessible for the visually impaired. Carving chisels all look the same within a set, without any clear distinction from one tool to the other. The only way a sightless sculptor can know which tool he is using is by touching the sharp blades, often leading to injury.
I developed a set of chisels whose tool tip could be easily identifiable simply by holding it.
As well as an equally intuitive management system to store these chisels.
I prototyped each concept and gained feedback from potential users, their suggestions informed each stage in this iterative process.
Every tool tip can be assembled using the same handle housing.
Every tool position is easily identifiable with a quick swipe of the hand.
Every user that volunteered -sighted and sightless- was able to immediately identify which tool they were holding..
And its place on the stand.
