Is it okay if we take photos and record the conversation?

Yes, that is not a problem.

What does the househeld help do?

She washes the coloured laundry, cleans, mops and vacuums.

How often does she come by?

She comes once a week on Wednesday. She also changes the bed and makes it neatly again.

What do you do in the laundry yourself?

He does white laundry, underwear, washcloths, towels and bed linen. She does coloured laundry, trousers, shirts and also socks, because they have to be tied together again.

How do you separate the laundry?

He feels the fabric. What he has worn is hung on the left of his closet. What not worn on the right. Cycling clothes are the separation between this.

What information should be on the tag/card?

He is not really concerned with the appearance of the clothing, but rather with which one is the newest. When he buys something again he wants to know which one it is, so maybe a simple brand would be nice. He has another wish: a knife with which he can cut several things at the same time. But he don't know if this is something we can design.

So you just want to know on what date the piece of clothing was purchased?

No, that's not even necessary. He is only interested in finding out which trousers or blouse are the newest. Multiple tags might be useful, suppose there are several new items.

Do you want to distinguish between different tags for different items of clothing?

No, he can sense what kind of clothing it is. So a different design is not necessary.

What would be good places for tags?

Not on the hanger but on the clothing itself. For example in the middle of the collar.

How should that information be transferred, preferably symbols or braille?

He doesn't care. Something that is on the fabric, as long as there is a difference with the original fabric. Can even be cardboard as far as he's concerned.

How big or small should that tag be?

About two fingers thick, for example. We gave him a festival coin as an example. He thought this was a good size, so a few millimetres thick and a few centimetres wide.

What do you use to take quick notes? Paper?

He types it out on his PC and sends the file to the library, after which it is printed and sent home. He sends it to the library of The Hague, which then sends it to Ermelo where it is printed on Braille paper. And he then receives it in an envelope at home. It's difficult for him because it takes a few days. He used to have a Braille typewriter. But it is very large and often got stuck. He did use this during his time in radio.

What is your daily routine? Can we maybe walk through your house?

He shows the computer and starts it up. When he starts up he hears a voice, Claire. With each action, the voice explains what it is doing, which is also palpable on the braille bar. This way he also goes through all the sites. He learned to type blind on a normal keyboard through a book with a Braille explanation. He still has an old-fashioned landline telephone that he uses a lot, which he finds useful because it has a good speaker. Whatsapp is still a learning process for him on the mobile phone. He likes the fact that technology now allows him to communicate well and answer mail.

Would you also like to see this technology in our design?

He wouldn't know what for, it's about the functionality. No sound is necessary, he just feels it. It doesn't have to be anything more.

Tour of the house:

He spends a lot of time outside on the balcony. In the guest room is his exercise bike, which he spends a lot of time on. He has two different closets for summer and winter clothing. The guest room also houses his closet for summer clothes. The closet for winter clothes is in his bedroom. Cycling clothes hang in the middle. He also shows the storage cupboard where all the things he hardly ever use are stored. In the kitchen he works from left to right. So dirty dishes are on the left and the drying rack is on the right. He has a washing machine with special tactile settings. In the living room he has a large radio and TV. Nowadays he watches live radio on TV. Everything is very neat and tidy because he wouldn't make it otherwise.

How do you prefer to attach the tag to the clothing?

Preferably not on the hanger. He wants to be able to put it on himself and preferably take it off again. It should not leave anything on the clothing. Preferably no sharp things or something.

What do you think of an NFC that can be scanned?

That doesn't really help him, all that information is a bit redundant. When he goes shopping, he matches the clothes and hangs them together in his wardrobe.

So the option of a camera that explains what you look like is also a bit redundant?

Yeah, he doesn't need to know that.

Do you find braille on the tag useful?

No that is not necessary. He is purely concerned with the fact that he can recognize what the newest item of clothing is. This could be a star, for example. He would like to mark his latest clothes.

Do you still have a preference for material?

Something that has a strong contrast with the fabric of the garment. Something made of plastic, rubber or something like that.

So reusable tags?

Yes, he would like to reuse it.

How many tags would you like?

About 5 pieces. With maybe a storage box to keep it together.

What would be a place you would keep this?

Just on a shelf somewhere in the wardrobe.

Would you like to keep the more information option on the tag?

That's actually not necessary for him.

How did you decide to wear this blouse this morning?

Actually took it out of the wardrobe on a gamble and put it on. The most important thing for him is that it is clean. By feeling he knows what type of garment it is.

Do you have visitors over often?

Tomorrow another 5 people from the eye association will come by for a working group. They discuss all kinds of matters regarding the Groningen area and visually impaired people. They are really a working group, so they really work things out. It is a nice friendly group. Coincidentally, they are also going to a lecture at the University of Groningen together on Saturday.