Blind and Visually Impaired Community
↑
5
↓
accessible/tactile designs? (self.Blind)
submitted by kuerbisalien
Hi everyone! So - I have a small Esty shop where I print designs and drawings on textiles. I do it for fun, Etsy is just a great way to get to share what I make with other people. I'm a uni instructor in "real life". I'm chronically ill & spend a lot of time on "disability twitter" & realized that my designs are not really accessible, or rather, that most textile printing is not accessible. I've now got a bunch of vinyl in very bright colors in varying thicknesses of 1000 & 600 microns, as well as fuzzy/velvet and rough glitter vinyl as well. I had some ideas for a sort of tactile design using varying thicknesses + textures and really bright colors. Question one - would anyone here be interested in taking a look/feel at my designs to see if they're actually accessible? For free items and/or €, of course! Question two - I was considering whether it would be ok to use Braille in the designs - it would have to be larger than normal Braille, of course, and I'm not sure whether Braille as designs is acceptable. I deeply appreciate any answers - I've also reached out to a local Blind student organization but I haven't heard back from them.
MostlyBlindGamer 3 points 1y ago
That sounds very cool.
Braille doesn't work when it's too large or too small and I'd kind of weird if it's actually only accessible to sighted people.
Braille doesn't work when it's too large or too small and I'd kind of weird if it's actually only accessible to sighted people.
kuerbisalien [OP] 3 points 1y ago
Yeah that was my concern about Braille. When I googled tactile and Braille designs to see if anyone had already done something like this, I discovered there are lots of tote bags with Braille printed on them in 2d, totally flat and using sublimation print, which fuses the colors of a design to the surface of a polyester textile and can't really be felt at all - that feels very icky. I can definitely stick with raised letter captions/words in designs.
MostlyBlindGamer 2 points 1y ago
Right. If you can make it actually readable, do include Braille in your designs. You might want to talk to somebody who actually uses it, instead of transcribing on your own.
kuerbisalien [OP] 2 points 1y ago
Thanks! Yes, I don't think I'd do it on my own - I don't mind paying someone!
MostlyBlindGamer 2 points 1y ago
You can probably get help from your local blind organization, but I'm sure if you post about it here, you'll also get help.
Unemployment rates for disabled people are unbelievable and it's always nice to have a use for your expertise.
Unemployment rates for disabled people are unbelievable and it's always nice to have a use for your expertise.
BlindPolyglot 2 points 1y ago
I live in Finland. I’m not sure if you are also in the E.U. or not, but I would love to help out! Private message me if you still are looking for some help, and let’s figure out something!
kuerbisalien [OP] 1 points 1y ago
That's very cool! I'm in Germany so that works perfectly! I will send you a message this weekend with details, very exciting
Shadowwynd 1 points 1y ago
We use "Jumbo" braille for teaching beginners - e.g. we start with ping-pong balls in an egg crate, move to braille where the bumps are 0.5" across (as ways of teaching the alphabet) - then move to actual braille. Braille has very strict rules about size and spacing and getting outside these rules makes it illegible.
For tactile designs on shirts, I would suggest iron-on/hot set rhinestones (e.g. things similar to a Bedazzler) or puff paint (paint that "puffs up" when dry) - both can be found at craft/hobby/fabric stores. My guess is the thickness of vinyl is not going to be discernible, and I would guess (from personal experience) that most vinyl is not going to make it through the wash well (especially the glitter variety).
For tactile designs on shirts, I would suggest iron-on/hot set rhinestones (e.g. things similar to a Bedazzler) or puff paint (paint that "puffs up" when dry) - both can be found at craft/hobby/fabric stores. My guess is the thickness of vinyl is not going to be discernible, and I would guess (from personal experience) that most vinyl is not going to make it through the wash well (especially the glitter variety).
kuerbisalien [OP] 1 points 1y ago
I print all of my shirts with HTV - heat transfer vinyl - and have been doing it for about 5 years now - my husband has worn a few of my designs once a week for all that time and the design is still intact. It's a professional product, though, and you have to order it from official textile print shop suppliers. The vinyl I'm talking about here is really thick, between .05 cm and .1 cm (regular Braille is .48 cm according to the internet). It's quite easy to feel the difference. The other options you mentioned sound fun but they are rather impossible to do at scale/take a ton of time - would be really cool for individual craft projects though!
My main concern is how the designs themselves would be experienced - is it "legible", is it aesthetically pleasing? Is it something people would even be interested in?
Edited to add, if this is something you do (you said personal experience) - try Sizer, the quality is excellent. Anything that doesn't come from a print shop supplier tends to peel or flake in my experience. I've never had a problem with any of their vinyl (even the glitter)!
My main concern is how the designs themselves would be experienced - is it "legible", is it aesthetically pleasing? Is it something people would even be interested in?
Edited to add, if this is something you do (you said personal experience) - try Sizer, the quality is excellent. Anything that doesn't come from a print shop supplier tends to peel or flake in my experience. I've never had a problem with any of their vinyl (even the glitter)!
[deleted] 1 points 1y ago
[deleted]
This nonprofit website is run by volunteers.
Please contribute if you can. Thank you!
Our mission is to provide everyone with access to large-
scale community websites for the good of humanity.
Without ads, without tracking, without greed.
scale community websites for the good of humanity.
Without ads, without tracking, without greed.
©2023 HumbleCat Inc • HumbleCat is a 501(c)3 nonprofit based in Michigan, USA.