Guide Dog Backpack: Enhancing Mobility for the Visually Impaired
Timeline
36 Weeks
My Role
UX Research
Design
Prototyping
Testing
Team
6 designers
Process
Research
Competitor Analysis
Ideation
Prototyping
Usability Testing
Tools
Sewing
Overview
Our team was tasked with redesigning a backpack with features that assist guide dog users and visually impaired individuals.
Visually impaired guide dog owners must not only attend to their needs—but also those of their dog. A backpack that once used to carry a laptop and water bottle must now carry dog treats, a water bowl, a harness, and other items. Combining the carried weight and organization of all these bulky items, in addition to traveling potentially busy streets and public transportation as a legally blind individual is extremely frustrating.
Mission Statement
We are working toward fostering independence and convenience for guide dog users. By addressing their specific needs, our team aims to enhance mobility, safety, and comfort in their everyday lives. Our design approach ensures that the backpack supports diverse lifestyles while balancing accessibility and usability.
Research
Competitor Analysis
Most competitor products are for people who are visually impaired rather than for people who use guide dogs. Their backpacks tend to be very expensive. While researching, we looked for materials that were comparable to the materials of competitor backpacks with features such as water resistance, durability, and weight. One prominent competitor that we researched was Feeldom Life products, specifically, the TREK- Large Universal Backpack.
Interviews with Needs Expert
We were paired with a ‘needs expert’ who currently works with a guide dog and is looking for a new backpack design.
We conducted four interviews with our needs expert to determine her goals, pain points, and challenges with the current product she was using.
One 30-minute Zoom call
Three 15–30 minute phone calls
Following the initial interview, we discussed what we could implement in our design and organized them by priority. Thr first two interviews were recorded and transcribed with permission from our participant.
Prioritized List of Backpack Features
Cane holder spot - easy to grab without taking bag off, maybe at the side or bottom
Hook on the outside side at top of right shoulder strap to aid in keeping harness on shoulder when walking
Dog compartment - room for collapsible bowl, small towel, extra small bags of food
Water bottle holder(s)- adjustable for different sizes of water bottles
Small pouch for holding treats at the bottom right side of the backpack - must be easy to access
High contrast fabric inside of the bag, and zippers that are easy to locate
Easy back to front transition for getting in cars/sitting down on buses/trains and getting settled in restaurants
Somewhere to put your jacket on the outside in elastic straps
Key connection inside on a retractable or elastic cord so that keys are easy to locate and use. (It is very difficult to find something that you had dropped when you have impaired vision!)
Feeldom Life: Trek Large Universal Backpack
Pros:
Durable
High contrast zipper pulls
Stands on its own
Cons:
Expensive
Bulky
Insights:
Our needs expert struggled to hold bulky items such as a cane holder and guide dog harness
Our needs expert struggled to access items while on public transport
Refined problem statement:
How might we design a practical, inclusive, and user-friendly backpack that addresses the unique needs of our client and other visually impaired guide dog users, ensuring their backpacks are better suited for everyday activities including transportation and carrying additional items?
Design
Each team member sketched the features that we hoped to have in our final design. We discussed which implementation we felt was most feasible and sketched out a final design.
My initial design sketch
Our final design sketch
Prototyping
Prototyping was done on a practice backpack before adding features to our final backpack. We added features in order of simplicity and priority.
Feature #1: High Contrast Zipper Pulls
High contrast colors make it easier for users with partial visual impairments (such as our Needs Expert) to find the zipper pulls
The large zipper pulls also allow for users with total visual impairments to find them with ease
Zipper pulls can be seen in our final design pictured next to feature #4
Feature #2: Strap to Secure Harness
Our initial idea was to screw a rubber hook onto the shoulder strap, but after initial iterations, we determined that a hook is too bulky and difficult to implement.
Current Iteration:
Our second iteration consists of multiple loops sewn on the right shoulder strap, with a velcro strap going through the loop (which can be seen below).
This allows for adjustable position of the strap depending on user needs
Process of cutting and sewing the loops onto the shoulder strap
Feature #3: Adapted Water Bottle Holder for Cane
Our initial design was to sew buckle straps that could secure the top of the cane, but we determined that this type of connection was not efficient enough for the user to place and remove the cane. For this feature we:
Took the dimensions of our Needs Expert's foldable cane
Sewed a strap above left side pocket to prevent cane from falling out
Current Iteration:
Our second iteration consists of a velcro strap for easy, single-handed access (which can be seen to the right).
Feature #4: Front Pouch
Our needs expert mentioned that having a location to quickly store and grab things would be helpful (such as lightweight rain jackets, etc).
Our backpack did not come with an easily accessible front pouch
We added a flexible mesh pocket to store items easily
Next Steps
Conduct usability testing by sending our backpack to our Needs Expert
Reach out to local guide dog users to facilitate a variety of user testing sessions
Continue to iterate our designs based on feedback from user testing
Implement more design features based on prioritized list above
Iteration 1: rubber hook
Iteration 1: buckle strap
Iteration 2: velcro loop
Mesh pouch and zipper pulls
Iteration 2: velcro strap
Reflection
Impact
We plan to conduct usability testing by sending our backpack to our expert and also reaching out to local guide dog groups to ask them to test it
We predict that these features will improve our needs expert’s daily habits in the following ways
Easier to store and access cane
Easier to locate zippers
Harness will not fall off shoulder to reduce frustration when not being guided by her dog
Improved ability to store raincoat and light items
Easy access to dog treats without having to clip the treats to her belt
Learning
I learned new sewing skills (applicable to future prototypes and product designs)
I learned that user research can look many different ways. Sometimes there are clear guidelines and pain points that are quickly discovered during research, however, there are still many ways to approach the same problem. Even if user research seems simple, the design and prototyping process can still be quite complex.
I learned that there are many challenges that guide dog users face in their daily life that many people will never encounter.