Journal

My Project Journal

This blog is part diary, part portfolio. Often, the project's final products are not published yet – I hope you enjoy the process and the journey through the projects!

The journal is not currently translated, posts appear in the language that makes the most sense in context.

Stage 2: Experiments

Now that I understand how microcapsule paper works, it’s time to get a bit nerdy with material science.

Most blind students in Austria attend regular schools, so they will have sighted people around them. This is why we decided to try and make the materials work better for this integrative approach by including the text in schwarzschrift (literally black print, I don’t think this term exists in English so I’ll stick to the German) too. Schwarzschrift here, for us, is red though. There’s technical reasons for that, but maybe I need to explain how swell paper works first.

Pages of swell paper with test lines in different line styles and red writing in different shades that has stayed flat in the swelling process
Testing different shades of red by applying different heat settings.

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Stage 1: How to read Braille

Pages of swell paper with different surface patters consisting of dots, lines and crosses
A number of pages with different surface patterns and intersections of lines and patterns

My new design project is interesting. It mostly consists of maths and programming, combined with social research. After that, finally, some layouting and typesetting – but the final product will not necessarily look pretty. That’s alright though, since it’s not made to be looked at: We are working on teaching materials for blind and visually impaired students. More specifically, a graphics catalogue to be used in high school maths education.

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Robot Invasion

I randomly stumbled across another installation by David Černý while I was out exploring the end of the world one of Prague’s outer districts and looking for birthday cupcakes.

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Here is a quick gif I made while soaking up all the sun I could get after 2 weeks of end-of-march-snow. It was a glorious, colourful late afternoon and after 2 hours everything went back to cold and rainy. But I got sun and birthday cupcakes, and even at the same time!

What is a conference?

Close up of the conference poster zoomed in on the “Changing Worlds” conference logo.

For the Changing Worlds Conference, we tried to experiment with the format of an academic conference. We learned as we went, and were definitely a lot more adventurous in the second year of the event.

The whole experiment started when a group of master’s students with a wide range of disciplinary and personal backgrounds came together to imagine and later execute the conferences. We noticed early on that we all had different expectations for what a conference might look and feel like. And being social scientists, we decided to explore what that might mean.

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After the conference

A few programmes and nametags (with pre-printed pronoun options) arranged on a desk with some pencils

And the conference is over. I wish I had found the time to take more pictures of all the signs and other print products and decorations we made for the conference besides pink and purple paper puffs, but I was too busy.

You can have a look at the conference program if you want to know more about the conference topics and exhibitions.

The image above shows some of the print products we made for the conference, in our continuous effort to make it feel less like a stuffy academic event and more like a space for exchange, curiosity and experimentation.

Turns out organizing a conference with loads of experimental features and events (such as a sound performance installation and an art exhibition) is even more work than organizing a “regular” academic conference. But it was definitely worth the extra effort.

It was a wonderful event and we got lots of positive feedback from everyone attending!