Hello!

We are two students taking a design thinking course at the University of Illinois. For an assignment, we were asked to redesign an object for a new audience, an audience for which the current object is inaccessible.

We decided to redesign the classic Rubik's Cube for the visually impaired since the Rubik's Cube relies on an individual's ability to see color. We have a few potential solutions and would love any feedback!

Here is a description of the current Rubik’s Cube design. It is from Wikipedia.
"In a classic Rubik's Cube, each of the six faces is covered by nine stickers, each of one of six solid colours: white, red, blue, orange, green, and yellow. In currently sold models, white is opposite yellow, blue is opposite green, and orange is opposite red, and the red, white and blue are arranged in that order in a clockwise arrangement... An internal pivot mechanism enables each face to turn independently, thus mixing up the colours. For the puzzle to be solved, each face must be returned to have only one colour.”

Here are our four different design ideas. The first idea is that the squares each have one of six braille letters embossed on them instead of six different colors. The second idea is that the squares have one of six textures embossed on them. The third idea is that the squares have one of six buttons. The six buttons take different pressure levels to push in and out. And, the final idea is that the squares have one of six buttons. The six buttons play different sounds.

We appreciate any feedback and would be happy to clarify if anything is unclear.

Thanks!