Yamaha IK101
Inclusive Keyboard
Goal: Digital Keyboard for the Visually Impaired
Role: Lead Designer, User Research, UX/UI Designer, Prototyping
Concept: Digital Keyboard as Communication Dance
Keywords: Collaborative, Endless, Visceral
Photography: M.Perry, YMW
2019 | jp.yamaha.com
Music is for everyone. And with the growing percentage of talented visually impaired musicians or prospects, there’s no better time to study how to improve digital keyboards so they can be played by everyone, independent of visual capacity.
The Yamaha IK101 organizes and spaces it’s elements effectively, combines braille with other tactile landmarks to make navigation easy and facilitate memorisation. Navigation through the menus can be done both by screen or with the help of an audio guide. The body is painted with a soft touch paint while shaped like an endless surface, all to enhance the tactile feeling of the product.
Research.
Visually Impaired are not only the fully blind but a much larger group of people with different ways of visual impairment. Designing a truly inclusive keyboard needs understanding about all types of impairment and what are their problems, needs and wants and how we can design a product that improves the user flow for anyone who wishes to use it.
Usability Testing.
By building mockups and prototypes to test ideas we were able to find flaws and insights together with the user. Previously, we conducted interviews and market observations that allowed us to iterate and come with the best solution we could.
The IK101’s UI was designed to provide a user flow that is easy to learn and understand.
A starting point placed at the center and designed as an important landmark, the users can, from there, find their own way in setting up the keyboard, being before performance of during, making this keyboard accessible by the visually impaired and not.
User Approved.
With the information gathered in several interviews, usability tests conducted with user groups of different impairments and not, we were able to design a product that is desirable, effective and inclusive that was approved by our users, both for performance and for home use.
