Designing ‘An Introduction to Braille’
Audio Edition
In order to ensure that the book would be accessible to everyone, we decided to create an audio edition. Rather than offering this separately (for instance in a sleeve or as a digital file) I wanted to incorporate it fully into the design and together with the printer and binder I looked for a user-friendly way to do this.
Tactile Design Solution
It was important to design something practical and durable taking into account varying degrees of visual disabilities. Bearing this in mind I created different design models and tested them amongst the target audience. Some solutions were just too ‘visual’, for example simple slits in the paper in combination with a folded line: the CD’s were literally torn out of the paper. I also tried existing solutions such as foam dots and hubcaps (rosettes) but they didn’t always work so well: they came loose from the paper or they simply stuck to the CD. The solution which tested the best was using a die cut to create a ‘pocket’ for the CD inside the back cover; a variation on a tried and tested solution which is often used for audio books.
Originally I had incorporated a foldout alphabet at the end of the book but later, when we decided to include an audio edition in the back cover, I abandoned this idea because I thought it would be unnecessarily complicated (in terms of usability).
Design for CD in back cover
Daisy CD
There were two good options for the book: an audio CD or a Daisy CD (Digital Accessible Information System). We chose the latter because of the extensive search structure and navigation capabilities. On a Daisy player (portable playback device with large control buttons) it’s possible to scroll through the text and go directly to chapters and sections. It’s also possible to highlight certain passages of text or to add bookmarks. An audio CD (often used for computers or CD players) can also consist of separate tracks but it doesn’t have any navigation functions on a Daisy device.
Together with the other group members and the producer (CBB), I created a reading document using the body text and adding picture descriptions and instructions for the braille pages. I also included chapter and paragraph breaks, later used to divide the spoken tekst recording into separate tracks
How to order
‘Op weg naar braille’ can be ordered through bookstores or via bol.com. It is only available in Dutch.
- ISBN 978-90-9031893-6
- Price € 15,–
- Vereniging Onbeperkt Lezen, The Hague
- First edition, September 2014
- Second revised and updated edition, June 2019