A new vision: how graphic design can help visually impaired people to make purchase decisions

Abstract

With the rise of the internet and developing technologies, people with visual impairments had many more opportunities. Nevertheless, they are still facing many problems during their online shopping experience. Even though shopping online should encourage disabled people to be more independent and to be able to make their own purchase decisions, there are still gaps with the accessibility of numerous online shopping platforms. Many people are not aware enough yet that difficulties during the online shopping experience arise and how this affects visually impaired people's everyday lives. This thesis is, therefore, analyzing the current situation if and how accessible online shopping for visually impaired people is. It additionally examines the challenges of online shopping platforms by a qualitative study. Interviews with visually impaired people highlight insights, which reveal several complications and the gaps that appear during shopping online. It also clarifies how the decision-making purchasing process for visually impaired people works, compared to sighted consumers. Finally, an educational website that shares the results of this research is introduced to attract attention to the current problems in order to create awareness.