Accessible Door Product Design Centered on People With Little or No Vision

You are a product manager asked to design a door for people with visual impairments. Choose the context and the users you will design for, work out the problems they face with doors, and propose and prioritize solutions. ```hint Walk through the door Follow one person through every moment of using the door, from approaching it to closing it behind them, and note each point where the design quietly assumes the person can see. ``` ### Clarifying Questions - Which door: the front door of a home, an interior door, the entrance of a public building such as a store or office, or a car door? - How much vision do the target users have: none at all, some light and shape perception, or low vision that glasses only partly correct? - Is this a physical product, a smart add-on for existing doors, or both, and do we already sell home hardware or is this a new business? - Who buys it: the person with the impairment, a family member, a landlord or a building owner? ### What a Strong Answer Covers - A deliberate choice of door context and a segment defined by degree of vision loss and living situation. - Pain points across the whole door interaction: finding the door and handle, knowing whether it is open, closed or locked, unlocking, and knowing who is on the other side. - Solutions that mix low-tech tactile and audio cues with smart features, and that keep working without power or a phone. - Prioritization with explicit criteria, plus success metrics and risks such as security, emergency exit and cost. ### Follow-up Questions - How would you test the design with blind users before building custom hardware? - How would your design change for the entrance of a public building used by many strangers every day? - If voice control is one of your ideas, how do you stop someone outside from unlocking the door just by speaking?