About two weeks ago, my class was prompted to construct a “zine” (short for magazine, or little booklet) about something of our choice related to typography. As a result, I started to research the history of Braille and how the “language for the blind” came to be. Although Braille isn’t necessarily considered a font, I think it is especially interesting to learn more about a “font” that isn’t universally used every day.
Looking closer at the zine, it is noticeable that the three dominant colours are dark blue, bright red, grey, and of course, black and white. I chose the colours blue and red because Louis Braille, the creator of Braille, grew up in France, where he attended The National Institute for the Blind (located in Paris) thus, inventing Braille. Many of the shapes that I have used are geometric, hinting at a playful theme which I think is fitting as he invented Braille when he was still in school at the young age of 15. It is evident that the font used is pretty simple, and that there is not a lot of writing. I aimed to keep the zine quite minimalistic, as I feel as though that would make it easier to follow. It was also important to me that I tried to fit in as much of the Braille language as possible, so leaving room for small dot patterns was essential.
In conclusion, I think that I would give myself a 9/10. I think that my zine has a well-developed, organized flow to it, and I think that I subconsciously took into consideration that the origins of Braille can be taught to people of any age, especially since it was developed in a children’s school. I really like that I used both printed media, as well as various inks and colours. My only concern is that some may argue that the overall concept of Braille doesn’t really fit into the category of typography. I personally think that that is not the case, as Braille can be found on public signs almost everywhere.