Understanding the problem

According to the Australian government department of health, there’s 1 in 6 Australians that have some form of hearing loss. That is around 3.6 million people, and among the many people with hearing loss, they tend to experience a drop in self-esteem and are often socially isolated due to their impaired ability to communicate with other people.

"More than 30% of adults (aged 18 to 69) with self-reported hearing loss have dealt with symptoms of depression in 2024." - The National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders

Problem Statement:

To ideate and formulate devices in public areas that grant accessibility and enhance social engagement and inclusivity for individuals with hearing impairments, while encouraging and educating hearing people on how to better interact with hard of hearing individuals.

Gathering insights

As my research indicated that verbal communication is often challenging for hard of hearing people, I selected research methods that allow for flexibility in communication, such as surveys, online ethnographies, and interviews. Each of these methods can be adapted to suit participants' preferences, whether written or visual, and help ensure that they can comfortably and effectively share their experiences.

Interviews, while traditionally entirely verbal, were conducted with accommodations such as written responses, captioning tools, or the use of interpreters to assist in communication when needed.

After collecting the recordings from the user interviews, online ethnography, and surveys, I conducted affinity mapping with my teammates to synthesise the pains identified. We grouped these problems under common themes and features in the platform.

Key Insights

Hard of hearing people are often socially isolated due to their impaired ability to communicate with other people.

Hard of hearing people have difficulty comprehending speech immediately, especially in noisy environments or when others speak too quickly. They often need repetition to fully understand.

There is a lack of understanding and empathy towards those with hearing issues, leading to unintentional exclusion.

There is a lack of supportive environments or systems in public places that assists in facilitating better communication.

Design Process & Rationale

Based on the findings of my research, I realised that a common recurring issue is the significant social gap that disconnects the hard of hearing community from the rest of the hearing population. In order to address this, the design needed to be something integrated into public spaces, not only to draw attention to this gap but also to help educate the public and foster better connections with people who are hard of hearing.

To explore how this design could be implemented in public spaces, I drafted three storyboards that illustrated different interaction scenarios between hearing and hard of hearing individuals. Each storyboard aimed to visualise how the proposed solution could promote awareness, encourage empathy, and facilitate inclusive communication in everyday settings.

Out of the three concepts, the chosen idea was a kiosk and phone service that recommends nearby places suitable for hard of hearing people to socialise in and provides live feedback on surrounding noise levels, which is a major feature for individuals with hearing impairments.

This concept was selected because the kiosk facilitates better engagement between hard of hearing and hearing individuals by creating shared spaces that are more inclusive and accessible for everyone. In contrast, my other concepts were primarily tools designed for individual use by the hard of hearing community and did not actively promote interaction with hearing people or support their integration into more social environments.

High-Fidelity prototype

Kiosk Rundown

The following video presents the key functions of the kiosk prototype, which showcases the onboarding process and the booking function.

Onboarding (Kiosk)

Starting Intro (1)

Venue Search Range (2)

Onboarding (3)

Home Screen (4)

Booking Process (Kiosk)

Select Venue via Pins (1)

Venue Summary (2)

Venue Search Range (3)

Time Selection (4)

Booking Details (5)

Booking Summary (6)

Booking Confirmation (7)

Navigation Summary (8)

Navigation Interface

Select Directions (1)

Navigation (2)

Mode Selection (3)

Navigation Route (4)

Interactive Games Interface

Navigate to Games (1)

Game Selection Page (2)

Game Instructions (3)

Game Interface (4)

Phone Prototype Rundown

The phone interface is used to provide reviews for venues, allowing users to share their experiences regarding noise levels, accessibility, and overall comfort. This community-driven feedback helps others in the hard-of-hearing community make informed decisions and encourages venues to maintain inclusive and supportive environments.

In addition, the phone interface displays the user’s current and past bookings, with selectable entries. Current bookings feature edit and delete icons, while past bookings include rebook and favorite icons. A navigation bar at the bottom of the screen provides access to the booking and saved sections.

Edit Current Booking

Main Interface (1)

Edit Booking (2)

Save Changes (3)

Edit Confirmation (4)

Review Interface

Click on Past Bookings (1)

Venue Summary (2)

Leave a Review (3)

Review Submission (4)

Promotional Poster

Challenges

Although my research indicated that there was a significant population with hearing loss in Australia, it was still challenging for me to not only arrange in person interviews but also meet up with participants . In the beginning of the research process, I relied on online deaf community forums for survey responses, but the responses were rather sparse and infrequent.Thankfully, as I was searching for more ways to reach out to the hard of hearing community, I found out that the Glebe Public Library, in collaboration with Deaf Connect, conducts weekly storytime sessions for little kids that are hard of hearing.

Not only was I able to better connect with the children, their families, and the interpreting staff, and to have them to help me out with filling surveys and arranging interviews, but it also provided me with deeper insights into the daily lives of people who are hard of hearing, insights I would not have gained otherwise . Though time-consuming, this process helped me build stronger relationships with the community and refine my designs to be more accessible, incorporating the various tips and suggestions I received over time, allowing me to develop the right frame of mind when designing accessible services.

Takeaways

After working extensively in collaboration with the hard of hearing community, some key takeaways from this project include:

Immersion is essential: Observing and interacting with the community in their daily environment provided insights that wouldn’t have been possible through secondary research alone.
The Power of Relationship Building: Engaging directly with users helps establish trust and meaningful connections within the community, which better create more impactful designs.
Patience and Persistence Are Key: The design process is not just about doing things in a time efficient manner, good research and design comes from taking the time to deeply understand users, iterating on feedback, and continuously refining solutions.

Quiet Quarters: Connecting Through Accessible Spaces

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