Envision @ home, Cooking

The story of how we came to film Joy and her family, started when one of Envision's finest, Ferkan, asked her to be part of a video. This video would be the start of the Envision Glasses launch and Joy, being one of our long term Envision App users and having the most positive attitude towards being blind, would be the perfect role model, actress and cook.

Let's go back to the day we went over to Joy's house to shoot the video.

On the day of the shoot, 3 Envision team members and our videographer, Sadjad, hopped in the car on our way to meet Joy and her family. We imagined how the day would go and went over the shots we needed for the video. Sadjad was preparing us for when we should leave the room, so that the sounds were being recorded properly. Ferkan and Karthik were double checking the pair of Envision Glasses we brought, so that we could start the video shoot as soon as we walked through the door. I was sitting and daydreaming about the stories Joy would share. You see, Joy is a long term Envision App user and I had just joined Envision. It was such an honor to be invited into someone’s home and understand how our products are used in daily life.

At home

Once we got to the house, Joy, her husband and daughter welcomed us. Joy told us that this was the day we would not only make a video, but we'd also have Joy's famous home cooked Caribbean meal. She would be using the Envision Glasses to make her favorite recipe. From finding the recipe in her recipe book, creating a grocery list, going to the store to pick up ingredients and, finally, making the meal. We were all super excited and with that special meal in mind, we started prepping our video equipment.

While the man were doing that, Joy gave me the grand tour of her home. She explained to me that she just redid her entire interior. Together with her daughter, she redid the walls, added new furniture and gave the space a whole new layout. She told me that a rigorous change in your home is not always easy for a blind person. It's not the activity itself, but the structure in daily routine that changes. Before the makeover, Joy knew where to find whatever she needed in a split second. She got up, made some coffee, went over to the fridge to make herself breakfast and started her day. After, she needed to redefine this routine. Luckily, she told me, something she didn't expect had happened. She could now hear what colors the walls were, find any object she was looking for and start her day as usual. "What happened?" I asked, "Envision" she told me.

“Envision gives me the ability to discover a whole new recipe.”
- Joy

We continued with our day, shooting beautiful shots of Joy while she created a grocery list from her recipe book, went to her favorite local supermarket and finished with making her special and delicious Caribbean meal.

After a long day, we all gathered around the dining table and I got to sit next to Joy's daughter. Her daughter told me how much respect and appreciation she has for her mom. Her mom wasn't always blind, but turned blind a couple of years ago. She explained how she saw turning blind was hard on Joy, but also noticed the positivity and strength her mom has. Always make the best of every day. And that's what we did.

We thank Joy, once again, for opening up her home to us and showing us how Envision makes her life more independent. I had an amazing day, met wonderful people, created an inspiring video and tasted Joy's famous Caribbean meal. I couldn't have asked for more!