Whether i’m sat in the Front Room with Kiwi, watching TV in Bed, or playing with Max in the Kitchen, I always have some kind of Drink on the go. The problem however, is that once i’ve placed my Drink down on the Coffee Table, my Bedside Cabinet, or the Kitchen Worktop, I have absolutely no idea where i’ve put it and often have to feel around to find it. That’s why when I saw that Opticoaster had released a Visually Impaired Coaster that claims to contain a range of both Visual and Tactile features to help Blind and Visually Impaired people easily find their Cup whilst I was scrolling through Instagram a couple of weeks ago, I obviously had to pick it up. Well i’ve been using it for a little while now, and I thought that I would tell you what I thought of it.

A tall cylindrical glass full of some translucent dark brown liquid and several cubes of ice on top of a large circular bright yellow plastic coaster that has a black plastic ring around it, on a white background.

A picture of the Opticoaster Visually Impaired Coaster.

Here’s what Opticoaster say about their Visually Impaired Coaster.

Made for those with varying levels of Visual Impairment. Features both visual and tactile aids making it perfect for those with little or no Eyesight.
Having seen my Grandad who has been legally Blind all of his life struggle for years to place his Cup of Tea down every day, I asked him what makes it so difficult. He responded that it is difficult to know if the Cup is safe on the edge of the Table or Coaster and he is scared to let go without leaning forward and confirming that the Cup is placed correctly. After hearing this, I worked with him to develop a prototype of a Coaster with a Lip that would allow him to feel when the Coaster is securely inside the Coaster and therefor safely on the Table. This worked really well but he explained how there should be more contrast between the Lip and the centre. The next prototype included the Black Square that you can see in our final version.
Since then, features have been added that help both him with his limited Vision and those with no Vision. The full list of visual and tactile features are outlined below. My Grandad has since been using the Coaster every day and seeing the difference it has made is unbelievable.

Visual Aid Features.

A luminous Yellow Base, ensures those with little Eyesight can see the Coaster from a distance.
A black Plate for High Contrast, provides the crucial High Contrast between the outside of the Coaster and where the Cup should be placed.
A Glow in the dark Ring, provides some visibility even when the Lights are turned off.

Tactile Aid Features.

Inward-facing Tactile Arrows, allows those with no Eyesight to easily feel where the centre of the Coaster is to help them guide the Cup gently in place.
A Sloped Lip, guides the Cup to the centre of the Coaster and allows the user to feel around and ensure the Cup is securely on the Coaster.
Rubber non-slip Feet, ensures the Coaster remains exactly where the user left it and ensure that if the Coaster is placed securely on the Table, when the Cup is placed inside, it will be too.

Size.

Will fit most standard and larger style Mugs and Cups.
Total Coaster Width, 12.6cm.
Maximum Cup Diameter, 9.4cm.
Lip Depth, 0.8cm.

What it did when I used it.

I absolutely loved what this did when I used it, as it’s Luminous Yellow Base allowed me to see where the Coaster was from a couple of feet away, it’s Black Plate allowed me to really easily know where to place my Cup down, it’s Glow In The Dark Ring allowed me to see where the Coaster was even when I had turned the Lights off, it’s Inward-facing Tactile Arrows allowed me to really easily and very quickly feel where to put my Cup, it’s sloped Lip allowed me to just place my Cup on the Coaster and it be guided into the centre of the Coaster, and it’s Rubber Non-Slip Feet allowed me to know that once I had placed the Coaster on my Table that it wouldn’t move around so that I could know exactly where both it and my Cup were.

It’s design.

I really liked it’s design, as even though it had a Luminous Yellow Base and a Black Ring that glowed in the dark, I thought that it looked extremely sleek and stylish, whether that was on my Bedside Cabinet, the Coffee Table in my Front Room, or on my Kitchen Worktop.

It’s packaging.

I really liked it’s packaging, as this came wrapped in a really thick piece of Plastic inside a very secure resealable Plastic Bag that kept the Coaster really safe until it arrived.

My overall thoughts.

Overall I would have to rate the Opticoaster Visually Impaired Coaster a nine out of ten. I absolutely loved what it did when I used it, including all of it’s Visual and Tactile aid features, it’s design, and it’s packaging, but I just wish that it was available in some other colours, as even though I thought that it looked extremely sleek and stylish, it would have been nice if I was able to match it to my Decor.
If you would like to check out the Opticoaster Visually Impaired Coaster for yourselves, then you can find it online here.
Have you checked out the Opticoaster Visually Impaired Coaster yet? What did you think of it? What’s some of your favourite Visually Impaired Aids that help you on a daily basis? Please let me know down below.

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Luke x