Braille Watch from David Chavez

A beautiful design for a braille watch from David Chavez. Comprised of two rows of 8 raised dots on individual disks comprise 4 Braille number cells as the face of the watch. Each individual disk turns in or out of a channel to "refresh" the time on the watch.

The designer has given thought to the problems for individuals who are blind or visually impaired and use an audible watches and the lack of privacy and how current Braille watches have "static bumps to orient the watch face in relation to the hands." His site gives excellent details of the watch, it's design, and how it works as well as the testing with a focus group. Oddly enough, the design portfolio that explains the watch does not have alternative text and does not appear to be accessible to those with visual impairments.

Its great to see assistive technology design that is not only functional, but beautifully designed and great to look at. Form can follow function. The adoption of AT use could be greatly improved if more rehabilitation technology designers thought about the aesthetics as well as solving issues such as privacy for AT users.

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