Social Distancing while Blind: A Co-Designed COVID-19 Rapid Response Comic

Abstract

According to the Royal National Institute for the Blind (RNIB), more than two million people have sight loss and about 350,000 people are registered blind or partially sighted in the UK (RNIB 2019). Information about social distancing measures in the UK has been mainly visual and therefore poses specific challenges for visually impaired persons. We present a COVID-19 rapid response two-page comic created employing co-design methods adapting an interview with a visually impaired person and their experience of the communication of social distancing measures during the early stages of the first COVID-19 pandemic UK lockdown between March and April 2020.