Sloan and the Flower is a children’s picture book that is designed to be accessible to children regardless of their level of vision. This book features both visual text and Grade II Braille that meets the sizing and spacing requirements specified by the Committee of Braille Literacy Canada. The black and white colour palette is high contrast and accessible to readers. Each character within the book has a distinct texture or defining shape that makes it easily identifiable on the page. For example, the sandpiper’s wing has nineteen layers of paper feathers whereas the fairy has three layers in their wings that create textured webbing and framing. The two characters feel very different to the touch when exploring the picture with a hand. This page from the middle of the book was created as a prototype and the remaining pages are currently being developed.
Materiality
Four types of paper were used in this project. The photo mount board was used for thick elements that needed to have additional depth to be discernible. The 98lb white paper was used for detailing and lighter textures such as the feathers in the sandpiper. The 148lb white paper was used for the braille and met the thickness required for Braille to be readable. A layer of 98lb black paper was used as a background to provide a high-contrast backdrop that would increase the accessibility of the image and text.
Technique
The laser cutter was used to create high levels of detail and precision within this image and the elements were cut out using the laser cutter. For the feathers on the wings, the outline of the feather layer above was scored onto the feather layer below it with a number for accurate assembly.
