Krohn Conservatory:
A Case study in accessible wayfinding for the visually impaired
In being tasked with designing a wayfinding system in any nearby location, my team and I selected the interior of Krohn Conservatory in Cincinnati, OH. A personal interest of mine is in accessibility, and for visually impaired users, this space is extremely challenging. Furthermore, they will likely not receive the same sensory experience as sighted visitors.
In addition, this could be a great space to help people with disabilities heal from nature deficiencies in a controlled environment. For these reasons, I proposed to my group that we focus our design thinking on accessibility.
Designer and Research Lead
In collaboration with Gracie Clark (Designer) // Rose Bacon (Designer)
Understanding Our space
From optimized legibility, to technological solutions, the spaces’s accessibility has the potential to be a multi-sensory learning experience.
Our design concept strives to stay centered around the conservatory’s botanical life while weaving in user-confidence by modernizing and simplifying wayfinding. Finding innovative ways to make signage changes more agile and inclusive requires utilizing tactile experiences outside of traditional methods like braille.
One technology my team and I were excited to utilize was a QR Code-Like tool created as a way for the visually impaired to access information & navigate public spaces with ease.
