Designing for Users With Sensory Impairments  //  2022

These tortoises were designed to cater those with sensory impairments -  the unique pattern on the back could be interchange with different printed shells. The concept was to create something that could be printed cheaply and robust, whilst also delivering on a product that can be re-used and have a degree of customisability.

These are some examples of the tile patterns that can be used as a height map - then projected onto the shell and converted into a mesh ready for printing. Created in Substance Designer - they are easily modifiable for quick iteration and adjustment.

The tortoise itself was sculpted in ZBrush, with the form being simple and incorporating lots of smooth shapes so that the main focus would be the texture of the shell. With the shell being detachable, it allows for the user to change different textures to their liking.

The initial setup for projecting the textures was a little bit fiddly, but with the template set it only takes a minute or so to change the design with another pattern.