From Stigma to Objects of Desire: Participatory Design of Interactive Jewellery for Deaf Women

Quietude [1] is an EU funded project that aims at creating interactive fashion accessories and jewellery for deaf women to experience and make sense of sounds. Through Participatory Design, a series of prototypes were developed to scaffold design inquiry and develop human-centred solutions. Deaf women and women with different levels of hearing impairment were involved in various activities throughout the design process, from in depth interviews, inspirational workshops, and co-design activities, through to body storming with experienciable prototypes. Each design iteration consolidated the theoretical grounding and the definition of new forms of design support. The latest suite of accessories addresses a number of needs of deaf people, from functional needs like ambient awareness and safety, to hedonic needs like aesthetics, curiosity, possibility to express a personal sense of style when accessorizing the body.