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Sugandha Gupta is the Assistant Professor of Fashion Design and Social Justice at Parsons School of Design. She creates Sensory-Textiles, a collection of textiles and wearables that engage audiences through their sense of touch, sound, smell and sight. Her research interest lie at the intersections of embodied justice, sensory engagement and disability gain.
A full PDF version of this visual essay is available here.
Cynthia Benett, a totally blind researcher, touches a mannequin with soft ivory sculptural pieces woven and felted by Sugandha Gupta, a legally blind (a person whose corrected vision is 20/200 or lower) artist. Sugandha stands on the right of Cynthia and they appear to be having a conversation. Photo by Iwonka Piotrowska. In the last couple of years, there has been a growing need for and a trend toward including, representing, and designing for disabilities. According to CDC’s Disability and Health Data System (DHDS), a report released in 2024, more than 1 in 4, or 28.7% of, Americans reported having a disability in 2022. [1] The World Health Organization (WHO) reported in 2023 that 1.3 billion, or 16% of the world population, as having a disability. [2] This statistic represents the need for factoring in people with disabilities—not just to be more equitable, but rather because it's also good for the economy. People with disabilities make up the largest emerging market, with over 2.6 trillion dollars in disposable income. [3]
Josh Halstead, a design practitioner, disability advocate, and professor from Art Center College of Design, discusses how centering disability justice, accessibility, disabled bodies, and disability as a culture in design can build new knowledge and new ideas in his Disability Design report published in 2021, commissioned by National Endowment for the Arts. [4] In his report, Josh found an increase in interest in designing for disability and inclusive design. He uses spatial design as a category that considers disability not just as a physical reality but also a cultural phenomenon. He discusses the example of Deaf Space, a new project at Gallaudet University that incorporates wider corridors for safe navigation while also creating opportunities for seeing passers-by and communicating with sign language or other gestures. This demonstrates how a disability constituency is guiding the design of a space through its lived experience and not despite it or by solving it. [5]
Another trend that shows growth in disability and inclusion is the increased efficacy of AI and its ability to aid better assistive technologies. Companies such as Microsoft and Apple are making strides in accessible technology and devices. Further, the lasting imprint of the pandemic, which not only sparked a trend in hybrid or remote work models but also in increased experiences of mental and other COVID-19–related illnesses. [6] Additionally, public figure Sinéad Burke, an Irish writer, blogger, and disability advocate, along with Dr. Ben Barry, dean of fashion at Parsons School of Design, launched the Parsons Disabled Fashion Fund in Fall 2023. Mainstream fashion brands such as Target, Tommy Hilfiger, and Nike have launched adaptive fashions targeting people with disabilities. In May, 2023 British Vogue released a series of covers with five disabled models, activists, and creatives such as Sinéad Burke, model Aaron Rose Philip, Ellie Goldstein, actor Selma Blair, and sign language performer Justina Miles. [7]
While these developments demonstrate momentum in representing and centering disability in design, there is a disconnect between the needs of the disabled people, their representation in contemporary scholarship within the disability community, and the frameworks that many designers use to center disability in their design process, which tend to lean on the medical model of disability. In the podcast Conversations About Disability Design, Josh further explains that the medical model locates disability in the body as opposed to the social model, which recognizes barriers that exist in built environments, products, or systems that construct or create disability. Josh further acknowledges how students often receive little to no introduction to disability theory or scholarship when designing.
Also, when companies choose to use titles such as “adaptive fashion,” they automatically segregate people with disabilities. The word “adaptive” implies that this clothing line has been specially designed for disabled people to solve their problems or adapt to their needs. This is not only a euphemism that is created to comfort people without disabilities but also implies that a separate line of clothing needs to be built rather than making mainstream fashion more versatile. While there are some positives to having clothing that can bring access barriers down in everyday clothing, we need to be mindful and critical of the message that we are sending to the mainstream society by using words such as “adaptive” for everyday clothing that would likely not be worn or celebrated by nondisabled people. Adaptive clothing medicalizes and capitalizes on the bodies of disabled people and furthers the idea that disabled people need to be cured or need intervention.
In her article ‘Adaptive Fashion’s Inclusivity Problem,’ Lauren Schenkman explores how adaptive fashion is doing more harm by perpetuating the charity and the medical model of disability through her interviews with Dr. Ben Barry, Stephanie Thomas, Founder of Cur8able, a fashion stylist and amputee, Bruce Darling, CEO of the Center for Disability Rights, and Liz Jackson, a disabled thought leader and designer. Here is a quote from the article to further understand the harms of adaptive fashion as explained by Stephanie Thomas:
“People in the audience were crying,” Thomas said. “It was more something to make the nondisabled people feel good. The harm in that—because I can see the good and bad—the harm in that is that people leave with the perception that we’re not powerful, we’re not capable, we’re not strong, that we’re this weak part of society that needs to be helped, that we don’t have anything to contribute. And it’s degrading.”
Schenkman’s article poignantly highlights the different approaches to design by showcasing narratives from the founders of Open Style Lab, Runway of Dreams, and, in contrast, perspectives of disabled stylists and activists who are engaging in contemporary disability discourses through an understanding of disability studies as well as a critical thinking lens.
Mathew Allen, in his interviews with Aimi Hamraie, Associate Professor of Medicine, Health, and Society and American Studies at Vanderbilt University; Sara Hendren (MDes ’13), Professor at Olin College and author of What Can a Body Do?; Sierra Bainbridge, Senior Principal and managing director at MASS Design Group; and Jeffrey Mansfield, Design Director at MASS, discusses how design is dictated mostly by and for visual engagement and how disabled people have not been professionally trained to be designers and engineers due to ableism and idealized understanding of body and its proficiencies. [8]
These developments and trends shed light on the need to understand and engage more deeply with the disability community, as well as integrate disability scholarship and theory in the curriculum, especially when centering disability in the design process. There is also an emphasis on the generative side of ideation and iteration that comes through with increased representation and interaction with the disability community. Disabled design practitioners like Josh and Sara Hendren have talked about the immense potential that lies in the diverse experience that disabilities bring to society. Looking at standardized rules or compliance oriented models is needed; however, it can present limitations to the design and iteration process, as Hendren professes. [9]
Building on these perspectives, my experiences of growing up without accommodations, Universal Design, and borrowing from theoretical frameworks such as Phenomenology of perception and the Disability Justice Movement, I created my rubric for Sensory Design. One of the ways I have navigated learning and creating work as a blind artist and designer is by focusing on my strengths in touch and sound. In this essay I am sharing my approach to developing and applying Sensory Design in my practice and pedagogy. I recognize and acknowledge that the approach of Sensory Design is evolving and varied; however, the framework I am presenting is built through lived experiences and knowledge from disability. Sensory Design offers flexibility to design for one or all because there is an emphasis on self-guided research and symbiotic relationship building with the disabled community. While Sensory Design advocates for versatility and simplicity of use, to avoid segregation and extractive processes, it also recognizes the strength in sharing our seeming vulnerabilities through storytelling using art and design and extending the work to a broader audience through multi-sensory engagement.
“Disability enriches, expands, and enables fashion and design to help identify different ways in which creativity and thoughtful design iteration and exploration can serve, amplify, and celebrate broader populations. I am proposing that we center disability in our design process and pedagogy, rather than merely targeting disabled people as subjects of study or spectators of design.”
Origins of Sensory Design
Sensory Textiles evolved to be a body of work that consists of textile art pieces and wearables that can be draped on the body in different ways. The idea germinated from the very first tactile quilt sampler I titled ‘Sight of Touch’. This sampler is partially visible in Fig.3, right in the middle of the black wall behind Ronnie and me. This image holds significance in introducing Sensory-Textiles as an important representation of Sensory Design born out of Sensory Textiles. It suggests that one does not need to be born with a disability or inherit a disability to practice sensory design. However, it is important to learn and grow one’s understanding of disability by creating lasting friendships or partnerships in the community.
Also, disability is something we will all likely acquire with age, as Bess Williamson points out in her book Accessible America: A History of Disability and Design.
“We nondisabled are TAD’s temporarily ablebodied.”
Therefore, developing bonds and building relationships with disabled people when centering disability in design will yield better design outcomes. It also mediates harmful practices such as only interacting with disabled people to gain insights or information of their challenges or personal details.
The above image depicts Judith Scott, a short, full-figured woman with Down syndrome, hugging her wrapped fiber sculpture in black and white. (c) Creative Growth Center, Photographer Leon Borensztein.We can also benefit from learning from lived experiences of disabled people and their relationships and stories. This was one of the first steps I took when beginning to work on sensory textiles. The first artist with disability I researched was Judith Scott. She is deemed one of the most compelling artists of the 21st century. However, many argue that she may not have known what art is. Born with Down syndrome and institutionalized for 35 years because she was labeled “too retarded,” Scott did not gain conventional literacy or language skills. However, when she was offered support through the guardianship of her twin sister Joyce Scott and enrolled in Creative Growth Art Center, in Oakland, CA, she found her words through her fiber sculptures. [10]
This section demonstrates how relationships, allyship, and supportive environments interdependently foster collectives of care for disabled people. [11] These care networks offer support but also help disabled people thrive and reclaim their power in society through the reshaping of their lived experiences that society often deems less-than or invalid. [12]
On the left is an image of a blind author, educator, and performance artist Leona Godin(Ph.D, Author of There Plant Eyes, Multi-sensory performance artist). Leona is seen walking with her cane on a busy street sporting her black boots and chic black outfit. Passersby are turning back and staring at her. On the bottom are words “Sighted People Suck,” a poetry/performance piece she created and performed in the Gotham Storytelling Fest on November 8, 2023. Photo by Alabaster Rhumb
“The lived experiences of disability give people and communities opportunities for expression, creativity, resourcefulness, relationships, and flourishing.” -Rosmarie Garland Thomson
Understanding the Medical and Social Models of Disability
The disadvantages that disabled people face are a result of barriers in the social environments as well as social ill treatment rather than their own bodily construction. [13] This is the social model of disability versus the medical model, which defines disability as a deficiency or an abnormality. [14] The medical model projects disability as negative, while the social model understands disability as part of the human experience. [15] In her essay “Disability, Constructed Vulnerability, and Socially Conscious Palliative Care,” Gill explains how vulnerability for disabled people is often linked to an inequitable distribution or abridged choices of resources, experiences, and services that impact the quality of life.
Rosemary Garland Thomson is a bioethicist, author, educator, humanities scholar, and thought leader in disability justice and culture. As Judith Scott’s example demonstrates, people with disabilities are a part of the human variation and present opportunities for society to grow and learn about a different dimension of the lived experience. The redefinition of disability by Garland Thomson helps us identify and view disability beyond its medical prognosis.
Georgina Kleege, a Blind author, professor, and an image description expert discusses how blindness is a gain in understanding images in the context of art. As a daughter of visual artists, she grew up immersed in conversations on art. She explains how blind people teach us about the nuances in an image that are understood through conversation and inquiry, which deepens engagement with art. This understanding and re-framing of perceiving disabilities is critical in the art/design process as it informs what we create, what we put out, and how we share it.
The images of Leona Godin with her cane, chicly dressed and walking with confidence, as well as Georgina Kleeg’s concept of gaining blindness and reclaiming the power of blindness through touch and communal image descriptions demonstrate how disability experiences enrich society with new ways of understanding, experiencing, and engaging with art and culture. These images demonstrate that if we learn to view disability through the social model, we can not only practice more inclusion but also welcome ideas that come from embodied knowledge. This changes how we interact with experiences that are different from ours from a deficit to a surplus. When we understand disability as a surplus or a whole experience we open up a world of possibilities and innovations.
The images below, Figs. 6 and 7, of children with Albinism with black cutouts on their eyes and wheelchair users looking at a set of stairs that can’t be navigated through the wheelchair are examples of barriers that exist in built environments. These images are easy to find through a quick Google search and in real-life scenarios. When children with Albinism are projected with cutouts placed on their eyes to depict vision impairment, it highlights their vision and impairment. Similarly, when ramps are not the norm in built environments, they present barriers for the individuals who use wheelchairs to navigate their surroundings. This demonstrates the manifestation of the medical model. With this understanding, designers, artists, and all members of society have a responsibility to not just create products or systems that are barrier-free, but to also advocate for not advancing these dated ways of thinking about difference or disability.
“The concept of “gaining blindness” comes from my observation that we always talk about “losing sight.” So, blindness is always understood as a loss. But I think the lived experience of many blind people is that blindness, vision impairment, is a different way of perceiving the world, and that there are gains in that difference.”
- Georgina Kleege
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This is an image of six children with Albinism. Each of these children have a distinct personality, as evidenced by their hair color, ranging from light platinum blonde to brown, and their attire. Some of the children have bows and goggles on their head and some have little ponytails. Their eyes are blocked with black patches across the images. This is an example of the medical model of disability as the highlight in these images is the impaired vision of these children. Google Search Photo
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This image shows a person in a wheelchair standing in front of stairs leading upward. He appears to be looking at a non-disabled person stepping down from these stairs. This demonstrates how the medical model of disability is structurally present in our built environments. It is apparent that the flaw is in the built environment that does not accommodate the body of a wheelchair user, barring them from being able to access all spaces equitably. Google Search Photo
- Georgina Kleege
Sensory-Textiles/ Sensory Design
Sensory design is born out of Sensory-Textiles, a body of work comprising textiles and wearables that encourage audiences to engage through their senses of touch, sound, smell, sight, and their embodied strengths. This approach is born out of my own lived experience as a person with albinism which renders me legally blind. My experiences growing up in India without accommodations and learning to find alternatives to make learning and navigation accessible have fueled my art and design practice and pedagogy. This section lays out a definition I created for sensory design and provides more context for broader applications and uses of sensory design in the wider consumer markets, art, and design.
Sensory design is an approach to making through embodied experience & knowledge. It bridges access barriers for disabled and non-disabled bodies by using access as a generative tool for creation. It broadens the scope of engagement through multi-sensory interactions. Sensory design encourages designers to reevaluate, recognize, and reconsider their idiosyncrasies and the foundation of design rooted in functionality to serve humanity. This approach calls on creative people to add variety and versatility to their creations through critical thinking, centering disability and authenticity in their process.
Ellen Lupton and Andrea Lipps describe sensory design as activating touch, sound, smell, taste, and the wisdom of the body. They discuss how sensory design welcomes different experiences of individuals with varying sensory abilities to engage with the information that is presented and creates a more inclusive and engaging environment in their book The Senses: Design Beyond Vision. This book, while challenging the dominance of the visual senses in art and design, showcases examples of multi-sensory immersive design projects in architecture, digital experiences, and product design.
Sensory design has been applied by artists, architects, and digital product designers to broaden audiences. The Cooper Hewitt Smithsonian Design Museum curated The Senses: Design Beyond Vision in 2018, which featured multi-sensory installations, innovative materials, and experiential learning to engage patrons beyond sight. Brazilian artist Ernesto Neto creates organic large-scale sculptures to immerse audiences in his work. He uses spices as well as pantyhose material with sand and stuffing to facilitate multi-sensory experiences.
On the left, Gupta’s pale hands touch the ‘Sight of Touch,’ a felted wool quilt with many different textures that are different in sensations such as soft, fuzzy, sharp, smooth, etc. She is wearing a black dress and only her outstretched arms are visible. Her right hand is touching a three-dimensional bubble-like texture, which appears to be very soft and playful. The tactile piece has been made with a combination of different natural wools such as merino, silk, cashmere, which add variation to the tactile experience.Principles of Sensory Design
We offer and add multi-sensory modes of engagement in/to our design.
We acknowledge/credit our sources of influence/inspiration/information.
We work from our embodied knowledge/lived experience/idiosyncrasy/pain/joy/commitment.
We are intentional/thoughtful about the environment in context of our practice and materiality.
We work by enhancing, exaggerating, and/or elevating diverse bodies and experiences.
We recognize our privilege and intersectionality of lives and foster uplifting and innovative/ingenuous design experiences.
We work by centering respect, care, and community engagement to develop new creations.
These are some key principles of Sensory Art and Design Approach. I formed these principles through my lived experience, research, scholarship, and my work and interactions in and with the disabled communities. I constantly work to learn and grow in my practice with humility and gratitude.
These principles are influenced from and borrowed in part from the phenomenology of Perception by Maurice Merleau Ponty, Disability Justice Movement, Universal Design, and the Design Justice Movements.
The idea behind each of these principles is to provide flexibility to the practicing artist or designer but also create a framework for guiding them. The most important component of this framework is to learn, grow, and evolve through critical thinking and feedback from the community that is being centered in the design process.
It is also crucial that we remain flexible and open and work towards forming authentic and lasting bonds with the members of the community we seek to work with and for. This not only helps create more accountability but also generates more ideas.
This sensory design framework has very broad applications and can be applied to any field.
Sensory Design Studio - Student Work
This section highlights the work of graduate students enrolled in my Sensory Design Studio course offered every spring at Parsons School of Design, The New School. This is a 15-week course with half the semester dedicated to students learning about and interacting with disability theory and scholars. Students also explore different ways of creating and presenting work such as writing image descriptions, making tactile graphics that are tactile and visual, and finally writing a manifesto, an artist statement, and creating one art piece, textile, wearable, or product using the sensory design principles. These examples are selected from a group of 13 students in the first offering of this course and show the breadth of application for students from different disciplines such as strategic design, product design, textiles, and fine art.
The images and statements presented in this section are courtesy of the students.
1. Carlos Salom
“Punta Gallinas is a very spiritual destination in Colombia, as if the journey there was both physical and deeply personal. When people arrive there, it is customary to build playful structures made of rocks (Fig 14.) – an almost ritualistic act of connection, of being present, and reflection.”
“Fig 15. The piece is made with irregular organic shapes of different types of dyed wool – silver Coopworth, light brown Manx Loaghtan, and dark brown Corriedale – overlapping on a bed of merino white wool, representing land and earth. A single thread of terracotta silk mohair surrounds the perimeter of the piece, representing territory. In the middle of the piece lie several terracotta clay figures of different shapes and sizes, inviting the audience to build structures or just play with them.”
“Punta Gallinas is a very spiritual destination in Colombia, as if the journey there was both physical and deeply personal. When people arrive there, it is customary to build playful structures made of rocks (Fig 14.) – an almost ritualistic act of connection, of being present, and reflection.”
“Fig 15. The piece is made with irregular organic shapes of different types of dyed wool – silver Coopworth, light brown Manx Loaghtan, and dark brown Corriedale – overlapping on a bed of merino white wool, representing land and earth. A single thread of terracotta silk mohair surrounds the perimeter of the piece, representing territory. In the middle of the piece lie several terracotta clay figures of different shapes and sizes, inviting the audience to build structures or just play with them.”
2. Andrew Harrison
“Access Volume performs as a wearable specific to my embodiment and problematizes the idea of access. Its sculptural form uses transparency to contrast the functional opacity it holds as a tool. Away from my body, it performs as a free-standing sculpture. A roughly polished steel spiral the length of my arm is welded to a steel square base. The spiral consists of concentric circles of three thicknesses of steel, thickest in the center ring. In the lower section is a handle unrecognizable to most as such, designed only for my hand to hold. The square base plate effectively blocks my hand’s access to anything outside of the tool.”(Fig 16.)
ID Fig16. & 17. Images are described within the student statement. Image 17 is a close-up view of the handle that is designed to fit only the student creator’s hand. It is shaped and looks like a tool such as a hammer or a plier with this tool functioning specifically to hold the maker’s hand.
“Access Volume performs as a wearable specific to my embodiment and problematizes the idea of access. Its sculptural form uses transparency to contrast the functional opacity it holds as a tool. Away from my body, it performs as a free-standing sculpture. A roughly polished steel spiral the length of my arm is welded to a steel square base. The spiral consists of concentric circles of three thicknesses of steel, thickest in the center ring. In the lower section is a handle unrecognizable to most as such, designed only for my hand to hold. The square base plate effectively blocks my hand’s access to anything outside of the tool.”(Fig 16.)
ID Fig16. & 17. Images are described within the student statement. Image 17 is a close-up view of the handle that is designed to fit only the student creator’s hand. It is shaped and looks like a tool such as a hammer or a plier with this tool functioning specifically to hold the maker’s hand.
3. Wilden Weihn
Once used only in medical and equestrian contexts, the harness became associated with counter culture, then, an expression of restraint, submission, and dominance in a sexual context within queer subcultures. I think in many ways my body has been subjected to the same journey. In my own life, the harness, or brace, as an object and presence in my life is about presentation, about pain inflicted by those around me, in hopes of altering my body for presentation to others. I think a part of the profound absurdity of this concept is that this is a privilege. My body is still alterable in certain ways to become palatable. How is the world in such a state where the bar is low enough for disabled people that this is privilege?
This harness was built as a presentation for myself. However, I wanted the context of the photoshoot to suggest that this isn’t completely celebratory, or an entirely positive experience, either. I wanted the setting and the color treatment of the shoot to suggest that there is still something seedy, voyeuristic, and unsettling about this experience, as no matter how I see my body, the context surrounding it is still impervious.
ID Fig 18. & 19. One can see the student designer’s slim body posing in the harness and only adorning underwear to emphasize the leather harness designed to amplify his voice and embodied experience. The harness is made of black leather strips.
ID Fig 20 & 21. Both images display the expressive Pandora’s boxes painted completely black but made with many different miscellaneous materials such as nails, tape, matchboxes etc. Fig. 20 has a hand wearing a bright red glove touching one of the boxes, gently showing the scale of the boxes being relatively small about 3 or 4 inches X 1 inch each. Image on the right, Fig 21., shows the cage supporting another longer but narrow box displaying the fragility and delicacy of the pieces that speak to the student artist’s statement.
Once used only in medical and equestrian contexts, the harness became associated with counter culture, then, an expression of restraint, submission, and dominance in a sexual context within queer subcultures. I think in many ways my body has been subjected to the same journey. In my own life, the harness, or brace, as an object and presence in my life is about presentation, about pain inflicted by those around me, in hopes of altering my body for presentation to others. I think a part of the profound absurdity of this concept is that this is a privilege. My body is still alterable in certain ways to become palatable. How is the world in such a state where the bar is low enough for disabled people that this is privilege?
This harness was built as a presentation for myself. However, I wanted the context of the photoshoot to suggest that this isn’t completely celebratory, or an entirely positive experience, either. I wanted the setting and the color treatment of the shoot to suggest that there is still something seedy, voyeuristic, and unsettling about this experience, as no matter how I see my body, the context surrounding it is still impervious.
ID Fig 18. & 19. One can see the student designer’s slim body posing in the harness and only adorning underwear to emphasize the leather harness designed to amplify his voice and embodied experience. The harness is made of black leather strips.
ID Fig 20 & 21. Both images display the expressive Pandora’s boxes painted completely black but made with many different miscellaneous materials such as nails, tape, matchboxes etc. Fig. 20 has a hand wearing a bright red glove touching one of the boxes, gently showing the scale of the boxes being relatively small about 3 or 4 inches X 1 inch each. Image on the right, Fig 21., shows the cage supporting another longer but narrow box displaying the fragility and delicacy of the pieces that speak to the student artist’s statement.
4. Ariya Patel
Pandora’s Boxes: Depths of Self explores my idiosyncrasies and the complexities of identity through a series of boxes that create an immersive, multi-sensory experience. Inspired by Pandora’s Box and the circles of Hell, I investigate the harmony between contrasting textures—soft, gentle materials paired with sharp, harsh elements. A monochromatic black palette unites the pieces, intensifying the tension between light and dark, vulnerability and strength. Each box, an intimate reflection of the self’s complexity, invites the viewer to touch, feel, and open, revealing a layered journey through tactile interaction.
Influenced by Yayoi Kusama’s work, I incorporate symmetry, balance, and a striking undercurrent of horror. Using distinct box shapes, matches, jewelry boxes, and a coffin, each piece unfolds a unique story as the viewer peels back layers. This work is not only a personal exploration but also an invitation for others to confront their own complexity, embracing the quiet chaos of self-discovery.
ID Fig 22. A close-up image showing a hand holding a fan-shaped makeup brush. The handle is sculpted from white air dry clay, designed ergonomically with a dents molded naturally to the fingers.
Pandora’s Boxes: Depths of Self explores my idiosyncrasies and the complexities of identity through a series of boxes that create an immersive, multi-sensory experience. Inspired by Pandora’s Box and the circles of Hell, I investigate the harmony between contrasting textures—soft, gentle materials paired with sharp, harsh elements. A monochromatic black palette unites the pieces, intensifying the tension between light and dark, vulnerability and strength. Each box, an intimate reflection of the self’s complexity, invites the viewer to touch, feel, and open, revealing a layered journey through tactile interaction.
Influenced by Yayoi Kusama’s work, I incorporate symmetry, balance, and a striking undercurrent of horror. Using distinct box shapes, matches, jewelry boxes, and a coffin, each piece unfolds a unique story as the viewer peels back layers. This work is not only a personal exploration but also an invitation for others to confront their own complexity, embracing the quiet chaos of self-discovery.
ID Fig 22. A close-up image showing a hand holding a fan-shaped makeup brush. The handle is sculpted from white air dry clay, designed ergonomically with a dents molded naturally to the fingers.
5. Thea Yazbeck
In creating this project, I was influenced by the everyday needs of anything that requires ergonomic solutions for daily-use objects. Drawing from personal observations and experiences, I utilized air dry clay to handcraft ergonomically shaped containers—from serum bottles to makeup brushes and beauty blender holders. Each piece was carefully sculpted to include dents for better grip, ensuring comfort and enhancing tactile engagement. The choice of material also plays a crucial role; the clay’s smooth texture and earthy tones not only invite touch but also add an aesthetic warmth that betters the experience. Through this project, my objective is to merge form with function, elevating the sensory interaction with mundane objects. I aim to provoke a deeper appreciation for the role of thoughtful design in enhancing sensory experiences, thereby inspiring users to engage with everyday items in a more mindful and enriched manner.
ID Fig 23. This image shows a hand holding the serum bottle with a pump dispenser. The bottle is fitted with a white clay handle that spirals around it, providing an enhanced tactile experience and grip. The image shows the dent design of the clay handle, which complements the natural curves of the hand.
ID Fig 24. A close-up showing a hand holding a bright pink makeup sponge nestled within a white air dry clay holder. The holder is shaped to securely fit the sponge. The holder has dents for easy grip.
6. Shaochi Lin
Through this project, I explore how tactile and sonic senses can be intertwined with bodily engagement. I incorporated raffia and linen into weaving; the characteristics and contrast of the two materials facilitates the goal of this project. It invites people to feel, touch, and manipulate the surface and further explore their reactions to this action. Through this experience, my audience can be more in touch with their senses and body movements. People navigate space uniquely and differently and might have their idiosyncrasies when engaging their bodies. For example, blind people rely on touching and hearing more than others. I want to invite my audience to explore and pay close attention to their tactile and sonic senses. The purpose of this project is to awaken and nurture the exquisite sensory perceptions that allow us to perceive very minute differences.
Conclusion
This hybrid visual essay demonstrates how people with disabilities are redefining the standards of beauty,
aesthetics, and even what it means to be human. The experience of disability is whole and it only takes an authentic engagement to see the wholeness and richness disability brings to society. Georgina Kleege’s concept of “Gaining Blindness” urges us to rethink the gains that come from seeming losses or, in this context, disability. Leona Godin’s performance illustrates how disabled people put themselves out there to be seen and heard as their whole selves and not be labeled as broken. Judith Scott, a non verbal artist with Down syndrome, found her own method of communication through her art. Despite all the barriers she faced with over 35 years of institutionalization, she still found her language when she was given a fair opportunity. These examples showcase how disability is a social construct. If society learns to embrace different lived experiences as valid and whole, disability would not be such an alien or tragic identity. This is also the social model of disability. As a society we can and must remove barriers that prevent people with disabilities from gaining access to education, opportunities, and the sociocultural fabric of society.
Sensory design, born out of Sensory-Textiles, is an approach born out of my lived experience as a legally blind woman of color. Sensory design encourages us to engage with the disability community by centering their experiences and offering our creations in multi-sensory formats. It urges designers and creators to integrate multi-sensory components into their work for broader audiences to engage without segregation or inhibition. Finally, sensory design believes in constantly evolving and growing by staying abreast of contemporary disability scholarship and culture.
Notes: Enabling Disabled Perspectives
[1]
In creating this project, I was influenced by the everyday needs of anything that requires ergonomic solutions for daily-use objects. Drawing from personal observations and experiences, I utilized air dry clay to handcraft ergonomically shaped containers—from serum bottles to makeup brushes and beauty blender holders. Each piece was carefully sculpted to include dents for better grip, ensuring comfort and enhancing tactile engagement. The choice of material also plays a crucial role; the clay’s smooth texture and earthy tones not only invite touch but also add an aesthetic warmth that betters the experience. Through this project, my objective is to merge form with function, elevating the sensory interaction with mundane objects. I aim to provoke a deeper appreciation for the role of thoughtful design in enhancing sensory experiences, thereby inspiring users to engage with everyday items in a more mindful and enriched manner.
ID Fig 23. This image shows a hand holding the serum bottle with a pump dispenser. The bottle is fitted with a white clay handle that spirals around it, providing an enhanced tactile experience and grip. The image shows the dent design of the clay handle, which complements the natural curves of the hand.
ID Fig 24. A close-up showing a hand holding a bright pink makeup sponge nestled within a white air dry clay holder. The holder is shaped to securely fit the sponge. The holder has dents for easy grip.
6. Shaochi Lin
Through this project, I explore how tactile and sonic senses can be intertwined with bodily engagement. I incorporated raffia and linen into weaving; the characteristics and contrast of the two materials facilitates the goal of this project. It invites people to feel, touch, and manipulate the surface and further explore their reactions to this action. Through this experience, my audience can be more in touch with their senses and body movements. People navigate space uniquely and differently and might have their idiosyncrasies when engaging their bodies. For example, blind people rely on touching and hearing more than others. I want to invite my audience to explore and pay close attention to their tactile and sonic senses. The purpose of this project is to awaken and nurture the exquisite sensory perceptions that allow us to perceive very minute differences.
Conclusion
This hybrid visual essay demonstrates how people with disabilities are redefining the standards of beauty,
aesthetics, and even what it means to be human. The experience of disability is whole and it only takes an authentic engagement to see the wholeness and richness disability brings to society. Georgina Kleege’s concept of “Gaining Blindness” urges us to rethink the gains that come from seeming losses or, in this context, disability. Leona Godin’s performance illustrates how disabled people put themselves out there to be seen and heard as their whole selves and not be labeled as broken. Judith Scott, a non verbal artist with Down syndrome, found her own method of communication through her art. Despite all the barriers she faced with over 35 years of institutionalization, she still found her language when she was given a fair opportunity. These examples showcase how disability is a social construct. If society learns to embrace different lived experiences as valid and whole, disability would not be such an alien or tragic identity. This is also the social model of disability. As a society we can and must remove barriers that prevent people with disabilities from gaining access to education, opportunities, and the sociocultural fabric of society.
Sensory design, born out of Sensory-Textiles, is an approach born out of my lived experience as a legally blind woman of color. Sensory design encourages us to engage with the disability community by centering their experiences and offering our creations in multi-sensory formats. It urges designers and creators to integrate multi-sensory components into their work for broader audiences to engage without segregation or inhibition. Finally, sensory design believes in constantly evolving and growing by staying abreast of contemporary disability scholarship and culture.
Notes: Enabling Disabled Perspectives
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Issue 15 ︎︎︎
Fashion & Southeast Asia
Issue 14 ︎︎︎
Barbie
Issue 13 ︎︎︎ Fashion & Politics
Issue 13 ︎︎︎ Fashion & Politics