Context
Visual impairment is a life-altering affliction. People with severe visual impairments are more likely to experience depression and anxiety, and more likely to suffer from social isolation. However, most kinds of visual impairments can be prevented or managed with the right treatment or tools. Access to eye care, however, can be challenging, especially for people from poor or rural backgrounds.
This takes us back to 1976 India, a recently independent and still heavily developing country. At the time, it was estimated that of India’s roughly 637 million people, about 1.5% (around 10 million) were blind, and roughly a third (over 200 million) needed some form of eye care.
It was this situation that motivated Dr. G. Venkataswamy to found Aravind Eye Care in a rented house in the South Indian city of Madurai, with the sole goal: “to eliminate needless blindness” by providing affordable (and in many cases free) eye care.
Participants
To tackle this enormous challenge Aravind didn’t operate in isolation. No, to succeed in this initiative they needed to maintain a careful balance between different stakeholders and their interests. In this case, I have identified 5 different stakeholders:
- Patients – wanted affordable and accessible treatment based on their needs
- Medical staff – stable and potentially purpose-driven employment
- Dr. V (and cofounders) – Fulfill their vision to end needless blindness
- Communities – restoring the livelihood and independence of impaired members
- Independent supporters – wanted to support the mission based personal social or financial interests
Revolutionized the Indian Eye treatment industry using Design Thinking
In order to demonstrate how Aravind implicitly used Design Thinking to fulfill their mission I’ll outline their progression using the 5 stages of design thinking: Empathize, Define, Ideate, Prototype, and Test.
Empathize
Aravind deeply understood their patients’ problems and knew how blindness was not only a physical disability but also caused them to feel like they were being stripped of their dignity and being a burden on their surroundings. They knew that a lot of people weren’t getting the treatment that they needed, so during their early days they along with the American Foundation for the Blind and the Seva Foundation conducted a study to assess why people weren’t getting treatment even though the treatment was largely made available free of charge.
Define
The study helped Aravind realize that the problem went beyond limited access to medical services; economic and social barriers also played a major role in preventing patients from receiving treatment.
Ideate and Prototype
To overcome these barriers Aravind came up with and implemented various solutions over the coming years. These included:
- Conducting outreach camps to screen patients in rural areas
- Providing free food and transportation to patients and escorts
- Hiring and training patient counselors
- Using Geographic Information System technology to plan outreach efforts through systematic identification and planning
- Manufacturing in-house intraocular lenses to reduce costs
- Establish telemedicine-enabled vision centers for remote consultations
- Providing added amenities to higher-income patients in return for higher treatment costs
Test
These ideas were not the result of a single design thinking iteration. Rather, they reflect Aravind’s ongoing, careful process of evaluating the effectiveness of their solutions. The organization consistently refined and expanded its approach by introducing new, complementary ideas. To do so, they regularly gathered patient feedback, monitored acceptance rates for treatments like surgery and glasses, and even conducted a large- scale field survey.
Success
From starting as an 11-bed eye clinic in 1976 to treating 45 million patients over the last 36 years and becoming one of India’s largest eye care providers. Aravind is a story symbolizing how a successfully implemented Design thinking approach can bring an unlikely success story to fruition.
What we can learn
To be honest, this isn’t a case of a one-time implementation. Instead, it’s a story of ongoing iteration, adaptation, and improvement, all driven by one very specific goal: to eliminate needless blindness. That’s what makes this, in my opinion, such a fascinating example of the long-term power of a committed design thinking strategy.
Every improvement and idea stemmed from Aravind’s deep dedication to their mission and their willingness to truly listen to patients at every step, all while balancing the needs of multiple stakeholders. Each initiative can be seen as part of a continuous design thinking cycle: an ongoing process of learning, testing, and refining.
Aravind’s seemingly unintentional yet effective use of design thinking shows us that staying committed to stakeholder goals, while constantly reassessing the impact of our solutions, can generate lasting value not just for individual stakeholders, but for society as a whole.
Sources
Aravind Eye Care Hospital. 2025. Home – Aravind Eye Care System. https://aravind.org/
Ravilla, T. & Ramasamy, D., 2014. Efficient high-volume cataract services: the Aravind model. Community Eye Health, 27(85), pp. 7-8.
Ravilla, T., 2014-15. The Story of Innovation at Aravind Eye Care System. L&T Journal of Management, 7, pp. 26-34.
Image sources
All images belong to Aravind and are found on their website
https://aravind.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/3-AEH-Madurai-on-1976.jpg
https://aravind.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Activity-report-cover-image-23-24.jpg
https://aravind.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/650X70.png – logo (white on white)
