Did you know that it is national braille week?
I have always been impressed by those who can read braille. Watching someone’s fingers dart across the page of a braille book is almost akin to watching a pianist working the keys of a piano. To me, the raised dots on the paper communicate nothing, but to some braille readers they hold the key to the works of literary genius’ as well as being a tool for making day to day living much easier – but not for all braille readers.
Where as in the past many would have used braille labels on food tins, music collections, files, kitchenware, clothing labels etc. technology such as the colour detector and PenFriend have made the process of labelling even easier with the use of audio. So, with the myriad of other developments in assistive technology, like ereaders (i.e. the kindle) and speech software - is it any surprise that more people are opting to forego learning and using braille?
Beauty products
Businesses like high end beauty brand L’OCCITANE believe that braille is still very important. They were one of the first make-up brands to have braille on all of their packaging. They say “Since 1997, the packaging of most of our products has featured the name of the range and product in Braille – given in English so that it can be understood by the greatest number of people. L’OCCITANE received the Helen Keller award from the American Foundation for the Blind for its help to the visually impaired by using Braille on its packaging. This award is given to individuals and companies who improve the quality of life of those who are visually impaired.”
Pro-stretch Ltd is another company with an interest in the use of braille; they provide fabric trims for the garment industry. They say “we are in the process of exploring the production of a woven tape trim to be included in clothing. We hope that this will make garments easier to identify and should give more independence to someone who is either blind or partially sighted.”
Recipe books
Celebrity chef, Tony Singh has put together a brailed recipe book with the help of children from the Royal Blind School in Edinburgh - he hopes the recipe book will help visually impaired people in the kitchen.
But is all this pretty much redundant if braille is becoming a thing of the past, at least for the majority of blind people?
Let me know what you think…
About Kiesha
Kiesha Meikle offers fashion and beauty advice for blind and partially sighted women.
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Comments
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Always been blown away by Braille and watching people read using this method. Like Morse Code - it's important to keep this system alive. Don't forget, it doesn't need batteries!
Posted by John Bartlett, 15 January 2012 (1 month ago)
