Goal: Help people who are visually impaired travel freely, creatively, and safely.
Eyes Open Tours is an app that puts the visually impaired in contact with certified sighted guides around the world. These guides provide safety and entertainment guiding designed for those with visual disabilities.
Why: At 45 years old, my dad was diagnosed with Macular Degeneration, a disease that causes dark spots in your field of vision. I've watched his eyesight diminish for years and know that one day he will probably be declared legally blind.
He and my mom have always dreamed of traveling when they retire, so I decided to make an app that makes that a possibility.
User Side:
Because this side of the app is designed for those with limited to no visibility, bold, contrasting colors and fonts are utilized. There is also a "tap to speak" feature that will read whatever is on screen out loud to the user.
Users set their preferences in the settings tab.
They are then given several choices of guides based on their preferences.
Once users have selected their preferred guide, they can chat with them and request a booking.
After the booking is accepted, a secure message is sent to the user giving them more specific information about their guide. Users are also allowed to respond for further clarity.
Guide Side:
This side of the app is focused on the business of being an Eyes Open Tours certified sighted guide.
Guides must first complete a 10 lesson training course and pass a test before becoming a certified sighted guide and are able to accept bookings.
Once the guide has been certified, they are able to set their preferences.
They then set their availability and are able to see current and past bookings.
Guides can to scroll through their booking requests and choose to accept or deny the booking based on their availability and skill set.
After the booking is confirmed, guides are able to communicate with clients through the app.
Finally, guides are able to track payments and earnings they recieve from bookings.