Design Thinking for Inclusion: Vanshika’s Mission to Make Museums Inclusive

Today, we put the spotlight on Vanshika, a grade 11 student at Singapore International School who is keen to integrate her passion for design thinking with her burgeoning interest in broader social inclusion. The culmination of her project is a promising example of what happens when the principles of design are effectively channeled to tangibly address existing societal shortcomings. 

Finding the North Star

As a curious teen at the cusp of adulthood, Vanshika began observing the ways in which the systems around her life function. She was particularly interested in understanding how these systems become inaccessible for members of certain groups. She started the literary platform and initiave Unban, which gave voice to marginalized artists, broadened her capacity to empathize with the lives of those that are sidelined by the mainstream. Among these marginalized communities Vanshika began to consider the lives of people with disabilities and the myriad ways that their needs are ignored. Thus, she found the North Star she sought for her design thinking project. 

Actionable Ideation

Being a meticulous thinker, Vanshika set out on her research to further define her target audience. Her research revealed that the World Health Organisation (WHO) had identified 1 billion as People with Disabilties (PwD), out of which 253 million suffer from visual impairment. 

As a natural empath, Vanshika tried to put herself in the shoes of the visually impaired community. 

While ideating on possible solutions to the challenges they face on a daily basis, Vanshika came up with several product ideas, including an AI-powered device that would convert essential audio signals into tactile text for those with auditory and visual impairment. Upon further reflection, however, she anticipated issues related to the technology and funding for this project. 

Undeterred, she continued on her ideation process finally arriving at her most actionable solution: a tactile floor plan for the visually impaired. She conceived the tactile floor plan to be drawn out in braille, employing colors of high contrast to aid even those with partial vision impairment. Vanshika was also keen to ensure that any use case of the floor plan should be wheelchair accessible.

Necessary Challenges

For the next phase of her project, Vanshika began considering places for which she could craft a prototype tactile floor plan. Initially, she considered doing the prototype for her own school; however, she didn’t want to restrict its utility to her immediate circle. Next, she considered constructing one based on a shopping mall, wherein she faced the challenge of addressing the issue of constructing a floor plan encompassing several floors. Subsequently, she decided on basing her prototype on one of Mumbai’s famous museums, the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya (CMSVS) where it would have a large audience seeking knowledge. 

Given below is the floor plan of the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya (CMSVS) museum interpreted as per Vanshika’s tactile model:

Expanding the Idea

Vanshika, as a goal-oriented changemaker, is seeking to have her prototype implemented at the CMSVS and is looking at having the final product be accessible in other public places too, such as airports, railway stations, and healthcare centers.

Vanshika’s journey can serve as an inspiration to all of us to look at the world around us and wield the power of design thinking to improve it. At TribesForGood, we believe in helping our young changemakers realize their dreams of a better tomorrow and Vanshika’s journey is a reflection of that.

Like Vanshika, you can

• Work with diverse communities in an area of your interest;
• Build entrepreneurial skills & improve soft skills;
• Experience collective youth power in achieving sustainable development goals.

Take that first step! Begin your changemaking journey by signing up for the upcoming cohorts of our Global Challenges & Social Justice Program.

Batch starts: 1 Jun, 15 Jun, 1 Jul, 15 Jul, 1 Aug & 15 Aug