Accessibility and Alphabets

At a talk posted on the Creative Bloq Derek Featherstone highlights how utilizing Accessibility in design can improve user experience across all users.

This got me to thinking about accessibility of typography and written communication in general. My first stop was Braille.

I found Greg Bland's Kobigraph designs beautiful in their execution. And may be one route I go down, there's plenty of information to design a new font based on the alphabet.

Looking into an abstract alphabet like Kobigraph made me think of other alphabets. The first that came to mind was morse code, another "language" that could be represented though audio and and tactile mediums. I decided to try the latter to trial it's effectiveness.

Making use of my girlfriend's pattern notcher I use it to cut a pattern along the border of pieces of card.

Notched Morse Code - The Alphabet

Notched Morse Code - The Alphabet (Close Up)

Notched Morse Code - Fine Tooth Comb

Notched Morse Code - Fine Tooth Comb

I really like the effect, despite a couple of "spelling" mistakes with the "Fine Tooth Comb", it seems like a successful experiment. I really like the tactile effect but I also feel it would be effective in a purely illustrative piece to add coherent and subliminal pattern to the piece.

International Sign Language also holds possibilities, both through still image or animation/film.

One divergent idea I thought of sprung out of one of my favourite quotes 

"Whoever saves one life saves the world entire"

Surely this is a form of idiom too? If only one far more densely layered than most that spontaneously emerge. Unfortunately I was unable to source a translator for what I would have like to have done as a design which would have involved highlighting the translation from the original hebrew text in the Talmund, This text heavy idea would later influence my final choices.