Making Sense: Co-designing Better Museum Visitor Engagement Experiences with Blind and Partially sighted Individuals.
About Jinyu(Eevee) Han’s Research:
Jinyu (Eevee) Han’s PhD research explores how museums and galleries can become more accessible for blind and partially sighted visitors. In collaboration with Dundee Contemporary Arts (DCA), their research uses exhibitions as case studies to co-design tactile models and audio descriptions with blind and partially sighted participants. Through co-design workshops, participants share their experiences and work collaboratively to develop multisensory interpretations of selected artworks. Rather than treating accessibility as an afterthought, the project places blind and partially sighted people at the centre of the design process, recognising their expertise in shaping more inclusive cultural experiences. This showcase presents examples of tactile models and audio descriptions developed through the research, illustrating how collaborative design can create new ways of engaging with contemporary art beyond vision alone. By demonstrating these inclusive approaches, the project contributes to ongoing discussions around accessibility, participation and inclusive museum practice, while supporting museums and galleries in creating more welcoming experiences for diverse audiences.
About Jinyu(Eevee) Han:
Jinyu (Eevee) Han is a PhD researcher at Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art & Design, University of Dundee. Their research explores inclusive exhibition design, with a focus on co-designing multisensory experiences for blind and partially sighted visitors.
Prototype Development of Tactile Components
This image shows the development of tactile components used within the interactive system. Transparent acrylic was laser-cut to create tactile elements with different heights, shapes, and surface qualities. The modular design allowed individual components to be refined through iterative prototyping and co-design with blind and partially sighted participants.
A close-up photograph of transparent acrylic tactile components arranged in rows. The image shows laser-cut geometric and organic shapes with varying heights and thicknesses, demonstrating the layered construction of tactile elements designed for touch exploration.
The Wheel of Touch: Interactive Tactile Display
The Wheel of Touch is an interactive installation developed as part of this research to support blind and partially sighted visitors in exploring artworks through touch. The device presents a series of tactile models based on artworks from the We Contain Multitudes exhibition at Dundee Contemporary Arts (DCA), mounted on a rotating wheel that allows users to independently select, explore, and experience each artwork through touch. It combines tactile graphics, textured surfaces, and creative audio description to encourage multisensory engagement in gallery settings.
A front view of a light-coloured wooden interactive display standing on a white exhibition table. Inside the frame is a tactile panel engraved with raised outlines and textured patterns representing an artwork. Beneath the panel is a row of texture samples with Braille labels and a joystick on the left side controls the rotating wheel that changes between tactile models.
A Visitor Exploring a Tactile Model
A visitor explores a tactile model installed as part of Making Sense exhibition at Lamb Gallery. The tactile model and audio description, developed through co-design with blind and partially sighted participants, uses raised lines and textured surfaces to represent visual elements and colours, supporting multisensory engagement with the artwork.
A close-up photograph shows a visitor reaching towards a tactile model mounted on a wooden rotating display in a gallery. The laser-cut tactile model features raised outlines and textured patterns representing an artwork. Along the bottom of the model is a tactile key with different textures labelled Yellow, Red, Orange, Green, Purple, Blue and Black, with corresponding Braille labels. Below the display, printed text and Braille introduce The Wheel of Touch, while a “Please Touch” sign encourages tactile interaction. The image demonstrates an accessible exhibition display that enables blind and partially sighted visitors to explore artworks through touch.
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