For many people with Visual Snow Syndrome, everyday tasks like reading, writing, studying, or working on a screen can be more difficult than others may realize. Bright contrast, black text on white backgrounds, and visual glare can make words harder to process, leading to discomfort, eye strain, and the need to reread the same information multiple times.
For Lily Badiani-Shah, this was part of daily life.
Lily was diagnosed with Visual Snow Syndrome at 15 years old, although she had been living with symptoms for as long as she could remember. Before her diagnosis, she assumed everyone could see particles in the air. It was not until she mentioned it to her family that she realized this was not the norm. Getting a diagnosis was not a straightforward process. It took visits to a GP, an ophthalmologist, and a neurologist, along with an MRI, an EEG, and several other tests to rule everything else out. For a condition that affects vision every single day, the road to understanding it can be surprisingly long.
One of the biggest challenges Lily faced because of Visual Snow Syndrome was reading and writing. Intense contrast glare made it difficult for her to process text comfortably. Every assignment required her to read over the words at least twice before she could fully absorb the information.
Over the years, Lily explored different solutions, many of which were designed for dyslexia. However, none of them seemed to work for her. The only thing that helped was printing on blue paper. She used this method often, especially during her national exams. However, as she got older, printing everything on blue paper became increasingly impractical.
Visual Snow Syndrome can be an isolating experience. Because of that, Lily wanted to create something that could help others feel less alone and give them the opportunity to explore what might or might not work for them, the way blue paper once worked for her.
That is how Haunani came to life.
The name Haunani means “beautiful snow” in Hawaiian, a fitting name for a project inspired by Visual Snow Syndrome and the unique way people with VSS experience the world.
The Haunani Project
Haunani is a free interactive resource designed to support individuals with Visual Snow Syndrome, dyslexia, contrast sensitivity, or anyone who finds black text on white backgrounds difficult to read.
Created in collaboration with the Visual Snow Initiative, this free resource helps users explore how different background colours may affect their reading comfort and accuracy.
The experience is designed as a short quiz that takes around 5 to 8 minutes to complete. Users are asked to rank their colour preferences, read four short passages on different coloured backgrounds, and answer a few quick questions. The goal is to help people discover which background colour may feel easier or more comfortable for them to read with.
For people with Visual Snow Syndrome, dyslexia, contrast sensitivity, or everyday reading discomfort, this kind of insight can be useful in daily life. Finding a more comfortable background colour may help with schoolwork, work tasks, reading, studying, and browsing the web.
The project began as part of Lily’s university work, where she was originally designing physical tinted lenses for people with Visual Snow Syndrome. Over time, that idea evolved into a digital resource.
As a product designer and recent graduate of Brown University and Central Saint Martins, Lily wanted to create something practical, accessible, and easy to use.
When she could not find a digital solution that worked for her, she decided to build one.
The resource is free, anonymous, and open to anyone. Whether you have Visual Snow Syndrome, dyslexia, experience contrast sensitivity, or are simply curious about how colour can affect reading, Haunani was created to help you explore your experience in a supportive way.
Take the Quiz: www.haunani.co.uk
