Blind and Visually Impaired Community
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White Cane Day project i'm working on with the cool folks at ABLR (pronounced Abler) (self.Blind)
submitted by onefragmentoftime
Hey folks,
I crosschecked with the mods before posting this. so I hope it's alright! Excuse the long post.
**Context:**
Me - I work at Eone (pronounced as the letter "e" and the number "one"), you might have come across our Bradley timepiece; named after US Vet and Paralympian, Bradley Snyder. If not, here is a pretty awesome backstory of Brad: $1.
John - John Samuel is one of the co-founders of Ablr and a fan of our timepieces. At Ablr, John focuses on helping organizations be more inclusive by removing the barriers that have hindered people with disabilities from accessing education, retail, entertainment, and employment. John’s passion for his work is very personal as he is blind and wants to make sure the obstacles he has faced are removed for others. Link to their website here: $1.
**The Project:**
Last year we ran a design competition for World Sight Day, calling on our community to put their own creative twist on the Bradley timepiece. At the same time, John launched his "Drip My Cane" project to remove the stigma and social barrier he felt was created by his cane. Both competitions were successful.
This year, we decided to partner up and run our projects together as World Sight Day and White Cane Day are only a day apart. The deadline is technically today - I apologise for not posting this sooner but I thought I'd share the project if anyone was interested in following along. I'll ask John and his team to keep the submissions open for a few more days if possible. More information on the competition and prize can be found on the page here: $1.
**Miscellaneous:**
If you have any questions; either about Eone, this project, ABLR, I'd be happy to try and answer them.
Thanks and have a great day, wherever you are in the world!
I crosschecked with the mods before posting this. so I hope it's alright! Excuse the long post.
**Context:**
Me - I work at Eone (pronounced as the letter "e" and the number "one"), you might have come across our Bradley timepiece; named after US Vet and Paralympian, Bradley Snyder. If not, here is a pretty awesome backstory of Brad: $1.
John - John Samuel is one of the co-founders of Ablr and a fan of our timepieces. At Ablr, John focuses on helping organizations be more inclusive by removing the barriers that have hindered people with disabilities from accessing education, retail, entertainment, and employment. John’s passion for his work is very personal as he is blind and wants to make sure the obstacles he has faced are removed for others. Link to their website here: $1.
**The Project:**
Last year we ran a design competition for World Sight Day, calling on our community to put their own creative twist on the Bradley timepiece. At the same time, John launched his "Drip My Cane" project to remove the stigma and social barrier he felt was created by his cane. Both competitions were successful.
This year, we decided to partner up and run our projects together as World Sight Day and White Cane Day are only a day apart. The deadline is technically today - I apologise for not posting this sooner but I thought I'd share the project if anyone was interested in following along. I'll ask John and his team to keep the submissions open for a few more days if possible. More information on the competition and prize can be found on the page here: $1.
**Miscellaneous:**
If you have any questions; either about Eone, this project, ABLR, I'd be happy to try and answer them.
Thanks and have a great day, wherever you are in the world!
Tarnagona 3 points 1y ago
The only I see with things like this (stenciling designs on a white cane), or Ambutech’s custom cane colours, is that the distinctive white and red has the very useful function of letting others know the user is blind. It’s not the canes primary function, of course, but really useful in crowds, or crossing streets (so drivers don’t expect me to make eye contact to let them know I’m planning to cross).
Is there something in this design project that addresses this? I’m all for personalizing, and making things aesthetically pleasing, like this suggests, but not while sacrificing a useful function.
Is there something in this design project that addresses this? I’m all for personalizing, and making things aesthetically pleasing, like this suggests, but not while sacrificing a useful function.
MostlyBlindGamer 3 points 1y ago
Because of these concerns, I have red flame decals near the tip of my white cane - customization, while preserving functionality.
Tarnagona 2 points 1y ago
I bet that looks really cool, too.
MostlyBlindGamer 5 points 1y ago
It's just subtle enough and ads a +1 to my dexterity and +10 to my movement speed.
onefragmentoftime [OP] 2 points 1y ago
Great question, the first run of this project fell victim to that very problem last year, with the winning design detracting from the functional aspect of the cane. This year, Eone is helping Able on the production front and we're moving to a stencil on top of a retroreflective base layer (that's the reflective material that is used on safety equipment, road signs etc). This way, the cane is still functional whilst decorated.
Of course, I'm sure there is room for improvement for next year's project and we'll learn from this year's run.
Hope this helps!
Of course, I'm sure there is room for improvement for next year's project and we'll learn from this year's run.
Hope this helps!
Tarnagona 1 points 1y ago
Actually, here’s a cool idea I just thought of. Can you make the cane white, and the stencil an off-white or other light colour, such that, from a distance, the cane has its distinctive, identifying white colour, but close-up, you can see the stenciled design? The low contrast between the two colours would be hard to see for many visually impaired people, unfortunately, but it would be a way to allow style and customization without losing the identifying function of the white cane. And I think you could still make something stylish and unique.
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