TouchTree Solution Clone with Tooltips – Touch Museum Object, Tactile Graphic, Visual Descriptions
Solution:
Step 1: Allow the visitor to touch the museum objectInclude tools, clothing, and decorations made by people, which provide essential clues for researchers studying ancient (and contemporary) cultures (National Geographic, “Artifacts”) directly. Provide gloves and/or supervision if needed.
Step 2: In addition, produce a tactile graphicConvey visual information and data via raised surfaces explored by touch, using methods such as embossing and microcapsule printing (Edman 1992). that is scaled to fit in the visitor’s hands, so the visitor understands the content of the original museum object.
Some considerations for tactile graphics:
- Tactile graphics should be made of 2D museum objects, such as photographs and paintings (Race et al.).
- Tactile graphics give a map of the composition, such as the layout of symbols on a museum object. However, the aesthetic of the original museum object may not read through (Race et al.).
- There are different methods of printing tactile graphics, such as embossing, vacuuform, and swell form.
Some resources for creating tactile graphics:
- Braille Authority. (n.d.). Guidelines and Standards for Tactile Graphics. https://www.brailleauthority.org/tg/web-manual/index.html
- Equal Entry. (2023). How to Create an Effective Tactile Graphic. https://equalentry.com/create-tactile-graphics/
Step 3: Provide visual descriptionsNon-visual language that conveys the visual world; can be used to navigate a visitor through a museum, orient a listener to a work of art, or provide access to the visual aspects of a performance (Art Beyond Sight, “Verbal Description Training”) of the original museum object and tactile graphic.
Response Record
- “No” to “Is the museum object three-dimensional?”
- “Yes” to “Can the visitor touch the museum object directly?”
- “No” to “Does the museum object fit in the visitor’s hands?”
- Solution: Allow the visitor to touch the museum object directly. Provide gloves and/or supervision if needed. In addition, produce a tactile graphic that is scaled to fit in the visitor’s hands, so the visitor understands the content of the original museum object. Provide visual descriptions of the original museum object and tactile graphic.