Seun Elemo: Midterm Portfolio – #2 Tactile Graphics

Project Description:

For this project I wanted to make something very simple and a bit useful. It was my first time making a tactile graphic before, so please excuse the basic nature of it.  So I love to burn Palo Santo, mainly because it smells great in my house, however, it’s sometimes so hard and messy to transport it when its burned due to the ashes. So I wanted to make something simple for me to hold and carry it around in.

Documentation:

I had an extra Brown Kraft Full Lid Gift Box in my house (pictured left) and thought of ways in which I can make what I had in mind.

 

I also know this sounds silly, but I kept on thinking about beach chairs and how that even though that chairs have spaced our broad/lines, the chair can still hold a person. I had some good tape at home and wanted to try and mimic the below drawing.

 

Final rESULT:

As shown by the first picture, I ended up going with the tape strips because I didn’t want to completely close the tray. Then you can see in a photo how the Palo Santo sits on the tactile graphic. The tape is able to hold a good amount of sticks. In the last photo, we see how the Palo Santo is able to fit in the tray, this would be great for when you ash your stick and want to place it somewhere. Lastly, the tape is great because it actually prevents any extra ash from escaping the tray too.

Reflection questions: 

What affordances do you gain by rendering an image tactile?

By rendering an image tactile, you gain the ability to allow the user to have free fill with the object. While you may have a particular intention with it, based on another’s users experience and needs, the graphic can be something totally different, which is perfectly okay! I also feel like the tape allows a user to navigate the graphic and quickly know what’s going on. Lastly, I feel like the structure of the tape kind of tells the user to not rip it off, because it looks and feels like the tape is holding something up or is of service to the graphic.