Part of a wider collection of tactile images for blind and partially sighted people, these 3D printed objects of reference are designed to be understood through touch. The heads of each of the objects are shaped differently to represent P.O.L.E or a person, object, location or event, allowing for the development of sentences using multiple objects. Additionally, a recessed space allows for adhesive labels and are large enough to support Braille. The printable texture samples are based on the RNIB texture swatch patterns for swell paper images, some of which I have been able to successfully convert into plastics as something of a toolset for others to create their own 3D printed tactile images.
Created in partial fulfilment of the requirements of a PhD at the University of Huddersfield, the thesis includes resources and information to aid in the design and creation of tactile images from both a professional and engaged amateur audience, including a full break down of which texture swatches suit this kind of blindness centric work and explanations as to why some textures do not transition well from swell paper to plastics.
“This framework operates in a similar fashion to the common practice of label or card mounted libraries of OOR, where a level of uniformity is used to denote objects as significant and a relational part of a collection, wherein, the ability to add text in conjunction with a focus on colour and shape, reinforce language concepts and notions of relational meaning. Working with the P.O.L.E system, different shaped heads and colours can be thought to represent different subjects, where person, object, location and event, can be assembled together to form sentences and reference distinct categories. In a connected vein, indented spaces have been left at the top of the objects, to attached printed or Braille labels, allowing for both Braillists and visual learners to develop their reading skills, with the additional benefit that objects can be repurposed if a subject ceases to be a regular aspect of a person's daily life.
In a connected vein, abstraction can be a useful tool for blind or visually impaired people, where a haptic experience is more representative of the event in the absence of a visual understanding of the object. A toy car has little tactile resemblance to the experience of being in a car, in that the figurative depiction is not something that can be readily understood from a routine touch-based interaction with a car, instead the interaction with the door handle, the material of the seats or the raised pattern of a tyre tread, are all better representative objects from which to connect the experience to a known touch point.” (Crumlish, 2023)
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