Touching the Story: A Comic Book for the Visually-Impaired Comes to "Life"

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Digital version of LIfe. Credit: Philipp Meyer[/caption] Comic books are unquestionably a visual-heavy medium. Splash pages, panels, dialogue bubbles and eye-catching covers are staples of the genre, and for those with visual impairments, the full effect has not been easy to capture. All of that could be changing thanks to one intrepid design student at the University of Applied Sciences in Potsdamn, Germany. Philipp Meyer has created a graphic novel that he hopes will bring enjoyment of comics to both the sighted and the visually-impaired. Life chronicles a life cycle, told visually with small circles that vary in size in order to represent different elements of the span of ones life over time. Using Braille and simple graphic designs of circles of varying sizes and colors, Meyer developed his story. Taking on the project was no easy feat. As Meyer said on his web page, "This project was definitely the most challenging I ever did -- yet the most rewarding as well." He first sent the book to his friend Michael, someone living with blindness. Michael's understanding of the story thrilled Meyer. "I will never forget the day when Michael read the tactile comic for the first time, experiencing a medium that did not exist in this form before. On that day I realized that it is possible to tell a story -- without ink, text, or sound -- that comes to life through imagination" said Meyer. While Meyer is careful to stress that Life is just an experiment for now, it does open up possible avenues for the future. Meyer sought assistance from outside reading specialists to help with the project's development, and more visuals will have to be developed for sighted readers, however, this is an exciting development in bringing the idea of comics to all readers and those of various senses! [caption id="attachment_52127" align="alignright" width="300"]

Philipp Meyer[/caption]