Selbstbestimmt.

Voting kit from above: ballot papers in a black frame, braille rulers along the top and left edge, smartphone alongside

«Selbstbestimmt.» or «Self-determined.» is a project for improved democratic participation of blind people. At the moment, it is still impossible for them to vote autonomously due to the lack of haptic features on the voting documents.

A hand holds the smartphone above the frame while the app announces step 1 of 11 of the national ballot paper
Close-up of the app's high-contrast interface: yellow-on-black buttons to go back a step, repeat it or confirm it
Two hands work the kit — one slides the yellow marker along the braille number ruler to find the right line

Together with blind and visually impaired people, we developed a solution to this problem in self-designed co-design workshops. The result is a voting kit that combines a smartphone app with a haptic coordinate system. This makes it possible to identify, orient and complete the voting documents autonomously.

Two completed ballot papers with «Ja» and «Nein» handwritten in the answer boxes, kept in place by the frame's black bars
Over-the-shoulder view of a person marking a ballot paper with a blue pen, guided by the frame
Detail of the tactile rulers: raised numbers one to nineteen alongside braille dots, with markers running in a yellow rail

With the methods used in the workshops, we explored new ways in which designers can work together with blind or visually impaired people.

Co-design workshop: hands hold a green LEGO baseplate on which shapes have been laid out in red, yellow and white bricks
Workshop participants feel their way across a wooden pegboard while keywords are collected on paper and sticky notes
The wooden pegboard alone: pegs with sphere, cube and star heads mark positions across four quadrants

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