Memio. (2019)
The blind live regular, independent lives like all of us. But lacking sight in our visually dominant world causes them to make do or do without many of the things that seem ordinary to us.
One of the things we wondered was how the visually-impaired record memories if they did not have access to photographs? And when we asked them, we found that most in fact do not document the events in their day to day lives.
This set us on a mission to enable the blind, by design, to record and reminisce their memories. These otherwise fleeting and forgettable moments.
Memio, a two-part system that consists of a necklace to record sounds and an album to access those recordings tangibly for the blind.
In the album, each of the 9 white nodes encapsulate a single memory for every page.
The touch of a node activates each recording, triggering a recollection of their memory.
And with a single page representing 9 memories, an album with many pages allow them to chart the different phases in their life. One navigates through these recordings with the familiar gesture of flipping the pages.
Designed with just the essentials, the necklace is compact and portable, becoming an extension of the blind, and allowing them to record wherever they go.
With a click, the sleeper recording mode captures spontaneous conversation that had just passed, and holding the button, records in real time. Inserting the necklace downloads and archives the memories into the album, just like a photo gallery
With Memio, the blind can now own their memories and build an emotional connection to them, reminiscing on the moments that brought them joy and reminding them of the people who have come and gone.
A
Ivan x Valerie
Collaboration
