Digital Skilling of Textile Artisans: Designing Smartphone Interfaces for Low-Literate Users

Textile artisans with limited literacy often face barriers in adopting digital skilling tools, restricting their participation in theevolving technological landscape of textile production. This study explores how smartphone interface design can beoptimized through visual affordances to support low-literate users. Using a human-cantered design approach, the researchinvolved ethnographic interviews, observational walkthroughs, and participatory co-design sessions with a Madhubaniartisan from Maharashtra. Visual cues categorized as Discover, Look, and Go were analyzed and mapped within existingmobile interfaces to support task recognition, flow, and feedback. Key interface adaptations included the use of domainspecific iconography, minimal textual dependency, and consistent visual markers to enhance usability. These adaptationsimproved comprehension, engagement, and learning outcomes within digital skilling environments. The paper proposes areplicable design framework tailored for low-literate user groups in the textile sector, contributing to inclusive technologyintegration and skill-based economic resilience. Digital skilling empowers textile artisans by enhancing their access tomarkets, improving production efficiency, and fostering economic resilience in a rapidly digitizing industry.