This project aims to create a prototype tactile resource through 3D printing, based on the popular story “Little Red Riding Hood” in Charles Perrault’s version. Through exploring the creation of tactile illustrations, the project identifies the key images and moments of the narrative, with the aim of providing an inclusive experience, preferably without the excessive use of text, or only when essential.

One of the innovative approaches of this project is to explore the use of audio aids, such as audio descriptions, to enrich the tactile reading experience. Furthermore, the visualization/exploration of the story as a sequential narrative will also be explored, through boards and vignettes of different formats or scenarios, taking into consideration the possibility of removable parts, cut-outs, and other interactive forms that enhance the narrative and the interaction with the graphic object.

The prototype will be tested with a specific target group, composed of people with visual impairment, in order to understand the effectiveness of the communication of the story through the tactile book and the effectiveness of interaction in the transmission of the narrative. Based on the results obtained, the prototype will be refined and subject to a second test.

After the conclusion of the project, the resource will be made available online at the ESAD.CR/Politécnico and LIDA websites, allowing the autonomous download and printing of the tactile book, so that it can be widely used by the interested community.

Image, visual and tactile

6-hour exercise, carried out between May and June 2024, based on the story ‘Little Red Riding Hood’ by Perrault. Tactile illustration creation exercise carried out with second-year Graphic Design and Multimedia students. Experiments in creating possibilities for simultaneous communication between the visual image and the tactile image, two-dimensionality and three-dimensionality, narrative and possibilities for interaction.

The video and images provide some examples of the proposals

This project is the result of previous work and research carried out by team members, including tactile illustration workshops, exercises with Graphic Design students, the Tesp in Illustration and Graphic Production, the Master in Accessible Communication, and the ProLearn4ALL project. The results obtained may point to future applications for research projects funded by the European Union, RunEU, and FCT, focused on the creative adaptation and dissemination of public domain literary works, aiming to promote the inclusion of people with disabilities.

Team members external to LIDA: Catarina Mangas, Tiago Silva.