Deafness, design and communication in the built environment

Deaf and hard of hearing people know that not all buildings are the same when it comes to communication. The type and level of light, the colour and patterns on the wall behind the speaker can affect both signing and lip-reading. In addition, deaf or hard of hearing people often complain about ‘visual dizziness’ caused by busy decorations and/or wallpaper with complicated patterns. They also often experience difficulties when communicating by signing or lip-reading when the light is dim or too bright, and placed just behind the speaker. However, until this project there had been little research which looked at everyday decoration and lighting, and their impact on communication.

Project Crystal included a questionnaire survey sent to a large number of deaf and hard of hearing people, supplemented by group interviews. Structured tests in a controlled environment were also used to identify the role of colour, contrast and lighting when communicating using lip reading or British Sign Language (BSL).