I am happy to share that the flyers for my project When I Close My Eyes and Ears, I Sense You Clearly have finally arrived!

The project explores universal design by stimulating a variety of senses and responding to the needs of blind, deaf, deafblind, sighted, and hearing audiences.

For the flyer, it was essential to include Braille and follow accessibility guidelines for people with partial sight. Additionally, I wanted the Braille to be visible to sighted people, so that more people become aware of its presence and importance. That is why I contacted the Norwegian Association of the Blind and Partially Sighted for advice and support in producing the flyers.

My original idea was to have Braille on one side of the flyer and text and an image on the other. I also wanted to include QR codes on both sides so that people could easily access the ticket page.

The designing process was challenging because I had very little knowledge about Braille printing and accessible graphic design. However, I learned a great deal along the way, and I hope sharing my experience here will be helpful for others who are interested in creating printed materials with Braille.


Challenge 1: The length of the text and the size of the paper

Our first draft filled four A4 pages. I learned that approximately 840 characters (including spaces) fit on one A4 page in Braille, so we shortened the text to fit within that limit.

However, I also had to consider the physical design of the flyer. Braille requires much thicker paper than standard copy paper, more like drawing paper, and folding over the Braille can damage the embossed dots. At the same time, I felt that a single unfolded A4 sheet would be too large to carry comfortably. On top of that, I wanted to follow accessibility guidelines for people with partial sight, which meant the printed text could not be made any smaller.

To balance all of these considerations; larger text, a compact format, and the artistic expression, we decided to print the flyer on an A3 sheet and fold it into three before distribution.

The flyers were delivered unfolded, so I now have the extra task of folding each one by hand. Although the folded A3 flyer is only about 7.5 cm smaller than an unfolded A4 sheet, I feel that this unusual format gives the flyer its own character while making it easier to carry. I am glad we chose this solution.


Challenge 2: Designing for people with partial sight
 
The Norwegian Association of the Blind and Partially Sighted gave me valuable advice about accessible print design (source).

Of course, every partially sighted person has different visual abilities, so there is no single font size and typeface that works for everyone. I also learned that many people simply use their phone camera to zoom in on printed text. Even so, these accessibility guidelines provided a useful starting point for my design. 

During my research, I discovered Atkinson Hyperlegible, a typeface developed by the Braille Institute of America (website) specifically for people with low vision. I eventually chose Atkinson Hyperlegible Next, an enhanced version that supports more languages. It felt like the perfect typeface for this project, so I used it for the flyer (14 pt). 
Because my artistic practice focuses on creating inclusive art, I also adopted it for my website.

Another important consideration was contrast. While some people prefer black text on a white background and others prefer the opposite, I learned that white text on a black background can reduce glare because it reflects less light. For that reason, I decided to offer that option.


Challenge 3: QR codes and accessibility

Nowadays, QR code is used in many places, such as museums, restaurants and flyers. I planned to have QR codes for both sides. However, after speaking with blind people, I realised that a QR code is purely visual information and therefore inaccessible on its own.

I asked the communication department at the Norwegian Association of the Blind and Partially Sighted for advice. One suggestion was to surround the QR code with a tactile frame made of Braille dots and include clear instructions beside it, for example: "Use your phone's camera to scan the QR code inside the tactile frame."
They also recommended testing this solution with several blind users before printing the flyers.

After several rounds of discussion and revision, I decided to abandon the idea of including the QR code and the Braille instructions on the same side of the flyer because there simply was not enough space once the flyer was folded into three.

I spoke with blind people again, and they suggested including contact information in Braille instead. People can request the event link by text message and then open it on their phone or computer, where screen readers and other assistive technologies can read the information aloud. I found this to be a good alternative, so I decided to adopt the idea.


Looking back

It took more than a month to finalise the design while working through all of these questions and details, but I am very happy with the final result.

It requires meeting people, asking questions, listening to their experiences and perspectives, and continually learning from them.

I am very much looking forward to sharing these flyers with future audiences ♡