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Mental Imagery for Multisensory Designers: Insights for Non-visual Design Cognition

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Design for Tomorrow—Volume 1 (ICoRD 2021)

Part of the book series: Smart Innovation, Systems and Technologies ((SIST,volume 221))

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Abstract

How do people with visual impairment see the world? In this literature review based on cognitive sciences findings, we have analyzed the main concepts used in the human brain’s cognitive processes to represent our perception of the surrounding environment. One of these concepts is mental imagery, which resembles perceptual experience without external sensory stimulation. This concept plays a central role in multisensory design cognition. It can help us understand the designer’s cognition process, design better systems for people with disabilities, and open opportunities for multisensory design teams.

There’s plenty of imagery that goes on all the time in blind people. It just isn’t visual.

—Paul Gabias, Associate Professor, University of British Columbia, early blind.

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Acknowledgements

To Andrea Kamensky and Marcio Aveiro, organizers of the course “Accessibility and Technology”, offered by Digital Plural, a social learning network platform, with the financial support from PROEC/UFABC. This research received financial support from the Brazilian National Council for Scientific and Technological Development (CNPq).

Conflict of Interest

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Federal University of ABC, Santo André, Brazil

    Ingrid Monteiro Maciel & Luciana Pereira

  2. EE Professora Inah de Mello, Santo André, Brazil

    Guilherme Felicio

  3. Aeronautics Insitute of Technologic, São José dos Campos, Brazil

    Edmar Thomaz da Silva & Emília Villani

  4. Linköping University, Linköping, Sweden

    Petter Krus

Authors
  1. Ingrid Monteiro Maciel
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  2. Guilherme Felicio
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  3. Edmar Thomaz da Silva
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  4. Emília Villani
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  5. Petter Krus
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  6. Luciana Pereira
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Luciana Pereira .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Centre for Product Design and Manufacturing, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, Bengaluru, Karnataka, India

    Amaresh Chakrabarti

  2. IDC School of Design, Indian Institute of Technology Bombay, Mumbai, India

    Ravi Poovaiah

  3. IDC School of Design, Indian Institute of Technology Bombay, Mumbai, India

    Prasad Bokil

  4. IDC School of Design, Indian Institute of Technology Bombay, Mumbai, India

    Vivek Kant

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Maciel, I.M., Felicio, G., da Silva, E.T., Villani, E., Krus, P., Pereira, L. (2021). Mental Imagery for Multisensory Designers: Insights for Non-visual Design Cognition. In: Chakrabarti, A., Poovaiah, R., Bokil, P., Kant, V. (eds) Design for Tomorrow—Volume 1. ICoRD 2021. Smart Innovation, Systems and Technologies, vol 221. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-16-0041-8_10

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-16-0041-8_10

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  • Online ISBN: 978-981-16-0041-8

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