Juhi Mehta: Midterm Portfolio – #2 Tactile Graphics – Accessibility As Creative Practice: Spring 24

Project Description:

For this assignment, I decided to choose a picture from Pinterest of a portrait of a girl holding sunflowers to turn into a 2.5D tactile graphic. Here is the original picture:

I chose this image because I thought it was beautiful and loved the different amounts of textures in it. I thought it would be an interesting challenge to recreate this as a tactile graphic.

Documentation:

tactile graphic

Materials & Process

For her face and body base, I chose popsicle sticks because of the color and the smooth texture. I thought they were similar enough to correlate to skin texture.

For her shirt, I chose gray fabric I already had which is the perfect texture for a real shirt. I cut it up and folded and glued it to the paper to create a tank top shape.

For the sunflowers, I chose washi tape and crinkled it up to get the perfect shape for the petals and used rolled up post it paper for the stem. I wasn’t able to find the perfect texture for flowers, but I felt as if the crinkly tape could imitate the texture of the flower petals through shape.

For the earring, I couldn’t find anything hard or smooth enough, so I chose a recycled piece of plastic and cut it up to form the earring shape. I believe this piece of plastic is easily foldable and matches the fluidity of the earring.

Visual Description:

[Image of a woman’s side profile from top of her head to half of her upper arm, wearing a tank top and holding sunflowers in her left hand. The flowers are hiding most of her face except her left eyebrow. Her long hair is worn down behind her back. She is wearing an earring on her left ear. You are not able to see her right ear.]

Reflection questions:

What is the theme of the work? What is it you aim to express?

The theme of the work is to recreate a 2.5d version of a digital image. I wanted to use craft objects to create the silhouette of a girl holding flowers.

How is that theme particularly expressed through the modality of the week?

By using different textures of different materials, such as popsicle sticks, yarn, and washi tape, I was able to differentiate the feel of each part of the picture (skin, hair, flowers).

Which elements of the work are beautifully/wonderfully/perfectly expressed through the modality?

I believe the hair and the shirt are the best in terms of expression through modality. The yarn makes you feel like you are touching hair. The fabric just reminds you of clothes.

Which elements are lost or inexpressible through the modality of the week?

The shadows of the image are hard to add to the overall tactile graphic. I don’t want shadows to be mistaken for other parts of the photo. But the shadow captures the mood of the photo so well. The mood is just lost in translation from image to tactile graphic.

Who does this project exclude? Who would not be able to interact with this work? Who is this modality not accessible for?

This project is not accessible for people who are not able to use their body to touch the graphic.

Now that you’ve identified who is excluded, what is one way you could remix this piece to include another population? (You don’t have to make this part, but think about it and write about it)

Making a video that describes this tactile graphic would be more accessible to people who are not able to touch it.

What affordances do you gain by rendering an image tactile?

Changing an image from 2D to 2.5D opens up a whole new world of understanding and communication. One can gain noticeability, discernibility, legibility, and even audio. When a person can physically discern and “read” a 2d image, they can feel the different textures that consist of it, as well as be able to hear said textures due to the feel of their textures. When you can make a photo be touchable, hearable, and readable, even if you cannot see the image for what it is, you can create your own image in your head. When you are able to help a person amplify their senses, you are helping them become more aware of the world around them.