Deaf Driving Digital Experiences

Deaf Driving Digital Experiences

A trip with a childhood friend who is deaf revealed how many driving moments still rely on sound, sparking a broader accessibility journey. That experience helped lead to co-founding the Ford Accessibility Team to drive improvements across more areas of the vehicle.

A trip with a childhood friend who is deaf revealed how many driving moments still rely on sound, sparking a broader accessibility journey. That experience helped lead to co-founding the Ford Accessibility Team to drive improvements across more areas of the vehicle.

466 M Deaf People
Client
Ford Motor Company
CAtegory
Digital Experiences
ARTIST
Clay Carpenter
Designing Accessibility Across the Mobility Ecosystem

On a trip to Las Vegas, I spent time with a childhood friend who is deaf and realized how much driving assumes you can hear: GPS prompts, in-car conversation, emergency vehicles, even drive-thru ordering. That experience pushed me into research and systems thinking, breaking the journey into distinct communication challenges and prioritizing what we could improve first. I started with audio and chime strategy, then brought the right teams together to expand the work into a broader accessibility initiative, defining an aspiration, a theory of advantage, and a strategic choice cascade to better serve diversely-abled customers through more accessible in-vehicle, retail, and commercial experiences.


On a trip to Las Vegas, I spent time with a childhood friend who is deaf and realized how much driving assumes you can hear: GPS prompts, in-car conversation, emergency vehicles, even drive-thru ordering. That experience pushed me into research and systems thinking, breaking the journey into distinct communication challenges and prioritizing what we could improve first. I started with audio and chime strategy, then brought the right teams together to expand the work into a broader accessibility initiative, defining an aspiration, a theory of advantage, and a strategic choice cascade to better serve diversely-abled customers through more accessible in-vehicle, retail, and commercial experiences.


REIMAGINING EXISTING TECH

By reimagining how existing vehicle features could support deaf and hard-of-hearing drivers, I identified accessibility opportunities already built into the platform. I explored using steering-wheel and seat haptics as navigation cues, giving drivers clear directional feedback without relying on audio. I also considered how the vehicle’s 11 built-in cameras could support clearer American Sign Language communication: by capturing hand movements from multiple angles across the cabin, the system could interpret and translate signing without requiring the driver to twist around or rely on the mirrors to speak the other passengers. That same multi-angle setup could enable quick interactions outside the car—at drive-thrus or during traffic stops—by letting the driver sign while the system maintains a stable, well-framed video feed. Finally, I began testing whether built-in microphones could detect siren frequencies and provide emergency-vehicle awareness through visual and haptic alerts.


Deaf Driving Digital Experiences
Deaf Driving Digital Experiences
Deaf Driving: In-Vehicle and Outside Communication



The Roll Out Of The Idea

This was the first commercial shaped by the FEDA (Ford Empowering Diverse Abilities) accessibility team, and it marked a turning point for bringing deaf driving concepts to a broader audience. As we began sharing the work publicly, the goal was to introduce these ideas in a clear, relatable way and show how accessible in-vehicle communication can improve everyday moments for more drivers.

This was the first commercial shaped by the FEDA (Ford Empowering Diverse Abilities) accessibility team, and it marked a turning point for bringing deaf driving concepts to a broader audience. As we began sharing the work publicly, the goal was to introduce these ideas in a clear, relatable way and show how accessible in-vehicle communication can improve everyday moments for more drivers.

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