Helping blind shoppers find their way and shop independently in a mall

Design a product that helps people who are blind when they visit a shopping mall. ```hint Walk the visit Follow a blind visitor from the moment they arrive at the mall until they leave with their purchases, and note each point where they need sighted help today. The worst of those gaps should decide your focus. ``` ### Clarifying Questions - Is the product something the visitor carries (an app or device), something the mall provides (installed hardware or a staff service), or both? - Should I design only for people who are fully blind, or also for people with low vision? - What is the visit for: reaching specific stores, browsing and choosing products, or using services such as restrooms, food courts and exits? - Can the mall install hardware such as indoor beacons, or must the product work in malls as they are today? ### What a Strong Answer Covers - Segmentation of blind visitors (vision level, mobility aid, comfort with technology, purpose of the visit) and a justified focus - Pain points across the whole visit: arrival, orientation, wayfinding, finding the right entrance, shopping inside a store, paying and leaving - Solutions prioritized by impact and feasibility, including what the mall must provide and how precise the guidance needs to be - Success metrics centered on tasks completed without sighted help, with safety and trust as guardrails - Risks such as guidance errors, noisy environments, battery or connectivity loss, and privacy for camera-based help ### Follow-up Questions - Your positioning places the user near the right store but not at its entrance. How do you guide the last few steps? - Malls must share maps or install hardware. How would you persuade them, and who pays? - A pilot shows users reaching stores but leaving without buying. What do you build next?