A Blind Perspective

I found this whilst trying to find out what it would be like to find your way around as a blind person. I think that is it a very original appoach, illustrating the visual images that may be imagined in the head of a blind person. However you have to wonder if someone os born blind how would they have any concept of shape, space and colour? Do they imagine anything? Do they dream, and if so of what?

Braile products

There is an enormous range of products that produce braile and tactile images. Least interesting of these are printers that print out the image embossed, or describe it with braile, or print text. Some of these are also equiped with speach synthesisers and microphones. I assume these would be very useful to the very low percentage of people who actually read braile. The most interesting product i cam across was the "thermo pen" which has a heated tip that when moved slowly across paper creates tactile lines words or symbols. Braile labelers, keyboards, watches, games and learning tools are also available.

Colour Identifier

This device detects about 100 colours and distinguishes sources, intensities and natural from artifical light. It speaks clearly at 3 volumes and has an earphone jack. This is an extremely useful product and would perhaps negate the use of the 'c' sytem mentioned earlier. However it si an extrememly pricey object and requires that it be carried around. I still believe that something like this, although i does make life easier for the blind, is still not tackling the problem of inclusivity. the general environment is not being changed to accomodate these people, the environment and society is ignoring the problem by presuming that all blind people want and need these. This is something that i need to think about when creating my own solution to the problem, do not exclude them more by givng them products that help them in our enviornment, but change the environment to suit their needs.

New York, New York

The New Torker magazine is something that i have been aware of for many years, have heard about the covers, but have never really looked at then. It was by chance that i can across an array of their work as i was surfing the web. At first i was not particularly drawn to the images as many of them do not display overy colours or images, nbut as i looked closer i found that the bigger picture is obvious once a few minutes is spent glancing over them. I particularly liked these three and i believe them to be the most venerated.

For this cover Art Spiegelman created silhouettes inspired by Ad Reinhrdt's black on black paintings, so that the north tower of the twin tower's antenna breaks the 'w' of the magazines logo. The magazine which was published september 24, 2001, it would appear was trying to illustrate the atomosphere of emptiness and illusion of a ghost image, that is reinforced by the varnish that distinguishes the image from the black background. It is a image i think that represents the confusion and darkness that filled New York at that time. A powerful cover that attempts to reach beyond the obvious.


This 2001 cover features a map of 'New Yorkistan' where the city is divided into middle eastern names. Again it is a powerful cover that aims to make the reader think rather than portraying the obvious with perhaps more impactful eye catching imagery. It is sophisticated despite its simplicity which echoes its target market and the issues its illustrating. It is an interesting imitation of the 1976 cover below.


The cover "View of the World from 9th Avenue" is perhaps dated now, and with reprouctions and imitations, the idea has perhaps lost some of its profoundness. Looking at it from the 1970's perspective however it would have been more befitting. It represents manhattans telescoped perception of the country beyond the hudson river, it is supposed to show the limited mental geography of Manhattanites. This could perhaps be put to a new concept of "Americas world view from America", which may highlight Americans ignorance over world geography.

Project Proposal

My proposal is to design a way to aid visually impaired, or blind people round the food options at the supermarket. Currently i am not sure which products i will focus on. To decide this i will need to conduct more research into my target markets wants and needs. There is also the option of a guide around actual supermarkets that will tell you what section your in - this i think would be especially suitable as supermarkets are forever moving their layout around.

Before i refine my proposal i need to answer the following questions:
• Would visually impaired people find a system to help the around a supermarket helpful?
• Who do i class as visually impaired?
• Would the visually impaired find a system to help them distinguish between food products helpful?
• Which food products?
• Different flavours? intensity of flavours? number it feeds? cooking instructions?
• How do they cope at the moment?
• Would this make them feel more excluded?

initial research findings

My initial research is leading me in the direction of inclusive design for the 'gray market', specifically those with eyesight problems. I think this is an area where i can possibly make a difference to the awareness of the public and aid those currently excluded.

I have been especially influenced by the work by the students contributed over the past years in the Royal College of Art Helen Hamlyn Research Associates Programme. Two students over the past years have created work that i think have made significant developments in the increasing problem of inclusivity in design. Primarily Natasha Frensch created a typeface to aid those with dyslexia to read more proficiently, this strikes right at the heart of the problem, combatting the parts of typography that people with dyslexia have problems with, for example, b and d, m and n, p and q. She came up with a solution that she tested and that was successful. Gero Grundman, attempted to tackle the problem of deteriorating sight in older people - similar to the avenue that i intend to take - by encouraging them to get checked out as soon as problems begin to arise. He wanted to tackle the problem at the beginning where people are most likely to be in denial, persuasion was an instant tool. Although i do not think some of his ideas would be successful or persuasive enough, it was interesting to see how he approached the problem of trying to advertise to people who may not be able to see the advertisements properly. By using bold colours, large type, and recognisable features (number plate) that were themselves integrated into the campaign, even a sight-impaired person would have the chance of understanding the concept, however inadvertently. The tactile qualities of Japanese braile and the 'c' system clothing system have also influenced me to consider using a 'hands-on' approach.

After looking at my research i decided that my initial idea of creating advertising that would include those with sight problems, was in itself short sighted. Do we, as individuals, feel the need to be advertised to? Or is it just a way for the hundreds of companies, shops and brands to differentiate and prove themselves to us. I realised that a visually impaired person would not really be bothered about the latest Guinness advert, when they find it a struggle to put on colour coordinated clothes or recognise their families. It is the most simple adaptions that will give them the greatest pleasure and ease of life.

The colour of money

Currency has its own graphic language. Any new currency has to retain its authoritarian and credability whilst stil look contemporary. Money passes through many hands with great speed, and so it is essential that the design is as functional and accessable as possible "Fundamental to [a persons] independence is the ability to deal easily with money" (Currency Design for Visually Impaired People: European Blind union, 1995)

All Euro and UK banknotes are rectangular but ech denomination has a different colour and size, this seems an obvious neccessity when designing banknotes, however the USA have yet to adopt either!

THE EURO
Each euro note has the numeral over 2cm tall and intaglio printed so that they are descernible to the touch, at least when the banknotes are new. They are positioned at the top right of each note, with smaller numerals in the corners. The numerals in the bottom left corner are the boldest, set against a pale background to enhance contrast. they are followed by the word 'Euro' in capital letters and written in the latin alphabet, the word in the Greek alphabet is written below it fainter. All the notes have a tactile foil feature that differs in shape and position from the low-value to high-value notes.

The three dimensional nature of coins make them easier to differentiate than notes, the euro coins differentiate in terms of colour, size, weight, thickness and the edges are sometimes textured.

Euro notes and coins are inventive examples of inclusive design with non-invasive features that help visually impaired and sighted users alike. This idea needs to be translated more into US currency design where there is a greater use of notes than coins and less diferentiation between them, and also in some ways the British notes. Notes also get so worn that it is nearly impossible to know what you have in your hand.

A possible avenue that i could explore is that of redesigning the US dollar notes to make them more accessible to visually impaired people, however as i am not a US citizen this may prove a difficult task. I do not know enough about North American history or their patriotic values to create something both accessible and in keeping with USA thought.