Blind and Visually Impaired Community
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Braille readability questions (self.Blind)
submitted by AtlasHugged97
Hello!
I made a post semi recently about an accessibility art piece I'm working on and I have some questions about Braille.
I mainly work in fabrics/sewing/beading, and with that I'd like to write in braille in beads on the piece itself.
My first attempt in another project was apparently not terribly readable, and so I'd like to ask what would work best.
Is it a matter of spacing? I can find dimensions for that online, but what about the amount the bumps are raised? Should I use round beads or flatter beads to better simulate more readable braille?
I have also found braille letter beads online and am wondering if making my own would be a better course.
As said in my previous post, I am sighted and am working on learning braille, but in the meantime I appreciate any advice that can help me make it all work!
I made a post semi recently about an accessibility art piece I'm working on and I have some questions about Braille.
I mainly work in fabrics/sewing/beading, and with that I'd like to write in braille in beads on the piece itself.
My first attempt in another project was apparently not terribly readable, and so I'd like to ask what would work best.
Is it a matter of spacing? I can find dimensions for that online, but what about the amount the bumps are raised? Should I use round beads or flatter beads to better simulate more readable braille?
I have also found braille letter beads online and am wondering if making my own would be a better course.
As said in my previous post, I am sighted and am working on learning braille, but in the meantime I appreciate any advice that can help me make it all work!
Laurax-1994 3 points 2y ago
I think any beads would be fine, flatter ones or small round ones. The thing to pay attention to is definitely the spacing like you said. Make sure the dots of the letters are pretty much touching each other and the spacing between letters is consistent. If readability is your main concern, don’t make the letters too big. Blind people read with one finger so if each letter seems like it’s several lines tall it will be challenging to read. My friends used to try and Braille me birthday invitations when I was a kid. It was such a sweet gesture and I felt terrible when I inevitably couldn’t read them.
AtlasHugged97 [OP] 1 points 2y ago
Sorry for the late reply!
So the beads I currently have for this are about 3mm, whereas regular braille dots come in at around 1.2-1.5 mm from my research.
Do you think this will be a problem? Based on tests with my own fingers I can still fully touch a braille cell even with them being this big, and in the case that these can work, can I just scale up the standard braille spacing measurements?
So the beads I currently have for this are about 3mm, whereas regular braille dots come in at around 1.2-1.5 mm from my research.
Do you think this will be a problem? Based on tests with my own fingers I can still fully touch a braille cell even with them being this big, and in the case that these can work, can I just scale up the standard braille spacing measurements?
Laurax-1994 2 points 2y ago
I think bigger is fine, just as long as they’re touching. My university had this Braille plaque that they were so proud of, but the spacing made it unreadable. For example the u was so tall that I thought the top was an a and the bottom 2 dots were a dash on the next line. I have made Braille letters with buttons that were big and readable but spaced correctly. I hope this makes sense.
AtlasHugged97 [OP] 1 points 2y ago
It does! I'll keep this in mind, I think I have a good spacing template worked out, now to just figure out how to transfer it onto fabric 😅
Laurax-1994 1 points 2y ago
I’d love to have some tactile or Braille art on my walls, so please let me know if you ever have anything for sale
zersiax 2 points 2y ago
Hmm. Braille is composed of dots, so you probably want beads that kinda feel like that, so I'd say small and round, and then put them together close enough within the individual letter and a little apart for the next letter, this sounds like it might get pretty finicky measurement-wise so I'm not sure if a template of some kind is possible? I know practically nothing about embroidery and such :)
AtlasHugged97 [OP] 1 points 2y ago
I already have my slate coming in the mail so hopefully I'll be able to use that to template out the spacing I think! I'm wondering if I should look into half sphere beads? So it more closely mimics the raised bumps of braille
Mitmee_pie 2 points 2y ago
I have seen people making braille with Legos. I don't know if there's a specific braille Lego kit, or how it's being done, but they've had me proofread what they write with Legos. It's a bit larger than real braille, but it is pretty darn cool.
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