Hearables

by Maryam (Esha) Chowdhury

Project Description

Our levels of self-expression, identity and autonomy are the core elements that create our self-esteem and determine whether an individual can self-actualise through socialising. Without these elements, one can feel powerless, isolated, and depressed, as the potency of these factors can drastically alter our lives.

The purpose of the Hearables is to address the contentious issues of stigma surrounding assistive hearing devices and the resulting othering of individuals. The project aims to transform these tools and recontextualise them as a beauty enhancement and fashion statement by giving back power to the hard of hearing and deaf communities. By providing a catalyst that facilitates this, we can turn disabilities into opportunities, thus allowing individuals full bodily control over how the world perceives them.

Hearables achieves this through creating “attachments” which serve as an anchor between the jewellery piece itself and the device. Much like a phone case, where one purchases a case for their specific phone model, the attachments work in the same way. Not only this: a person can scroll through the catalogue to purchase jewellery as well from our website. In order to afford individuals as much bodily autonomy as possible, the website allows a client to customise every aspect of their jewellery if they so wish, from jewellery type to metal or gem type.

Bio

I believe that good design is one language that is universal and accessible. I am passionate about inclusive and sustainable design and am eager to learn more about this. I am an aspiring UX designer, who is driven by the desire to create a more empathic and inclusive world. Such notions are achieved by connecting with individuals to understand the scope of their frustrations and the problem space. 

I thrive on developing concepts by translating research data and philosophies into design proposals. I do this through rapid prototyping, user testing, Adobe and a healthy dose of compassion. I am always keen to chat about exciting design concepts and passion projects, so please get in touch, and we can have fun conversations!

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