[Test 5] Teaching the concept of coding to the visually impaired

Eric Lee
Eric Lee
Sep 3, 2018 · 3 min read

Came across a article that about 1 of every 200 developers is visual impaired and that someone triggered me to ponder. Is it possible to modify the game where it will be inclusive for the visual impaired children as well. As Apple mentioned, everyone can code. And that mean everyone.

Thus, instead of using the board to mark the position of the ‘duck’, we experiment with Duplo brick where there are holes to feel the number of steps and it also allow the “Duck” to be position into the slot.

We created the playing pieces with our laser machine. Guess which one is the duck?
How we positioned the playing pieces with the Duplo

For the playing cards, we use stickers to label the cards instead of braille as we feel that it might hinder the playing experience.

We got some stickers and stick it onto our prototype.

And the game begin…

What we have learned

  1. We need to find a way to separate the cards (Moving & Action) properly so that they can pick up the card themselves. Maybe a card holder would help.
  2. Need to find a way to hold the playing pieces firmly into the slot. It tends to drop off easily when the user tried to feel around the Duplo board.
  3. The user suggest to have some extra ‘power’ to the game. We realised that every age group would have different expectation in the ‘power’ to make the game interesting.
  4. They could understand the ‘loop’ function. We did not have time to test the “If else” concept but it could be a challenging part.
  5. We would need to create a instruction manual that is inclusive for the visual disability.
  6. They like the game because it involve some strategy rather than just playing it.

What‘s next

We will need to solve the problems that we have highlighted above but at the same time, we feel that it is time to get the feedback from the public, especially the teacher side.

Do comment below if you have any feedback about the game.


This is a self initiated project by Refruit, a design agency from Singapore & Myanmar. If you are keen to follow the progress of this project or you have any feedbacks, do join our Facebook group. We would like to hear from you.

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Eric Lee

Written by

Eric Lee

A creative generalist who want to design a better world. Happily managing two design studio in Singapore and Myanmar. www.refruit.com

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xfruit

Sharing our daily struggle as a small design studio.

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