Lieselotte van Leeuwen

Designing sound tools and toys for blind and visually impaired children

In this paper, we highlight the issue of integrating the audio and tactile sensory experience into the design process of toys and computer games. Our approach is to address and incorporate design issues for the sensory impaired at the beginning of the design process, to design for their abilities rather than compensating for their disabilities. The children are engaged as co-designers. The scenarios outlined in this paper are an example of inclusive design.

Adult play, psychology and design

Within psychology, play is studied mainly as an instrumental phenomenon for child development and therapy. This body of knowledge is utilised for the development of ludic objects and environments in the context of leisure, learning and therapy. Where adults are concerned, play is almost exclusively studied in therapeutic contexts. This paper explores the far broader contributions psychology could make to the understanding of ludic engagement in adulthood. Using primarily Burghardts (2004) conceptual analysis of animal play behaviour and Sutton-Smiths (1997) rhetorics of play, a number of research questions will be proposed. Finally, the contribution such research could make to the design of ludic objects and environments, as well as the need for an interdisciplinary approach will be discussed.

Visual-music vibrations

Over a period of more than 14 years a research project has led to the development of an interactive MUltiSensory Environment (iMUSE) designed to improve quality of life for the elderly and children with special needs. The emphasis is placed on sound, and through exploring, expressing, playing and responding aesthetically in the iMUSE environment, progression and (re)development of physical and mental abilities has been enabled. During this period more than 60 children and adults have been involved for periods lasting from 20 weeks to 7 years and with an age range from 2 – 104 years. The three phases of the project and the research and evaluation methodologies are described, with a reference to current and future developments.

Facilitating the experience of agency through an intersensory interactive environment

Abstract The project presented provided a group of elderly participantsin shelteredliving conditions with an intersensory environment in which participants create expressively, by the use of their voice or movements, events which are specified auditory, visual and/or tactile. Being part of long-term research the iMuseproject explores the effect of additional visual feedback for this specific client group. Throughinterviews and video-based behavioural observation an account is given of the change in experienced control during iMusesessions with and without visual feedback. The effects in terms of experience and observed behaviour are evaluated in relation to specific impairments as well as individual aesthetic preferences.

Confronting the Transition: Improving Quality of Life for the Elderly with an Interactive Multisensory Environment---A Case Study

Continuing developments in medical science are leading to a general increase in length of life. These have been accompanied by an increase in disabilities and diseases associated with ageing and the quality of life for the old and older old can be seen often to decline progressively. An interactive multisensory environment (i MUSE) has been developed, together with a particular methodology - vibroacoustic sound therapy --- (VAST), to offer the possibility of amelioration for some of these conditions with the aim of providing the opportunity for an improvement of well-being for some elderly and older old people. This paper describes the development of this environment, its modus operandi, and concludes with a case study of an elderly frail man who provides a model for the application of i MUSE in care homes for the elderly frail and mentally infirm.

Choosing Methods for Prototype Testing of Inclusive Computer Games

A range of methods used in the development of computer games for young blind and visually impaired children demonstrates how depending on the stage and focus of a design process different ways of working with children allow to identify relevant information. It is also shown how methods help to create mutual understanding between special needs children and a design team.

Design for Rebellious Play

Non-conformist or non-compliant acts are often seen and researched as negative behaviors, which hinder children’s socialization and enculturation. However, the joy of breaking rules in play and the popularity of rebellious characters in children’s literature hint at rebellion as an expression of autonomy and resilience as well as a part of shaping circumstances. Two psychological approaches, the developmental and the motivational, are used in this chapter as lenses to explore the potentially constructive role of rebellious play. Design ideas created by students of industrial design and examples of existing ‘rule-breaking’ toys and games are analyzed with respect to the content and strategy of rebellion as well as in terms of social risk taking. Mapping aspects of the psychological concepts to design for play, it is demonstrated how the design space for active rebellious play can be widened in a number of ways.