Every year since 1992, blind and low vision artists across the globe send impressive artworks to the American Printing House for the Blind for its annual Insights Art Competition. An international program, in years past the InSights Art Team has received entries from China, South Africa, the Philippines, and more! Recently, the InSights Art Team got to catch up with one of this year’s participants to find out more about what inspires him and his art. Tavish Gillian, a twenty-year old artist from London, Ontario, has been entering his artwork into the InSights Art Competition for the past two ..read more

Understanding the world around you can be difficult when you cannot see it clearly. A tactile globe and atlas are great resources, but they merely provide students who are blind or low vision a glimpse of their surroundings. APH’s Tactile Graphic Image Library (TGIL) contains over 500 tactile images that can be used in geography class to enhance learning. Teachers, students, and transcribers can register for a free TGIL account online and emboss graphics for themselves or download and view them on the Monarch, APH’s new 10-line by 32-cell braille display that can render braille and tactile gra ..read more

Soaring across the globe, the Monarch renders braille and tactile graphics on the same surface, allowing students to have access to more tactile materials than ever before. APH conducted a series of teacher trainings in North America, and now, our partner, HumanWare, is doing the same with their international demonstrations. Peter Tucic, Director of Strategic Partnerships at HumanWare, was the lead presenter at the trainings in Canada while Andrew Flatres, HumanWare’s Braille Product Manager, conducted trainings in over 14 different locations in the UK. “In these daylong sessions, the morning ..read more

Did you know that the first recorded rock n’ roll is attributed to a blind musician? The musical group, Blind Roosevelt Graves & Brother, recorded the first rock n’ roll in the 1930s, decades before the genre was popularized in mainstream music. As part of the Blind Musicians Collection, the APH Library holds a CD of the group’s entire anthology and includes music by them on the library’s curated Spotify playlist, the APH Blind Musicians Collection. Read more about the group’s history and impact on rock n’ roll in this blog!   Rock n’ roll’s characteristics include rhythmic sing ..read more

Designed to have a video game feel, the main screen of the Chess Application is visually striking with the words ‘Monarch Chess’ displayed at the top of the screen in what John Karr, APH Software Engineer, refers to as ‘fancy font.’ Hand coded to create the letters of the alphabet, the title is laid out in braille underneath with instructions to ‘Press Enter’ just below that. Sounds you would hear in a park, such as someone skateboarding, birds chirping, or chess pieces getting placed on a board, play in the background. Black and white knight chess pieces are visible on either side of the scre ..read more

Karen Anderson, Education Programs Coordinator at the National Federation for the Blind (NFB), says her first impression of the Monarch was “like a dream.” Something that had been talked about since she was in school, she knew the Monarch wasn’t going to be like past attempts, but it wasn’t until she saw the beta unit that she let herself get excited. “When we got the beta unit we were like, ‘Okay, this is real— it’s scalable, productionable, and actually functioning enough that they’re coming off of the assembly line.’ That’s a big deal,” says Karen. Previous efforts at reaching the Holy Brai ..read more

Churchill Downs, Louisville Slugger Museum & Factory, Muhammad Ali Center, and many more are on a long list of attractions that draw people from around the world to Louisville, KY. Here at APH we are working hard to add another destination to that list! Designed with an unprecedented set of applied inclusive design standards that puts disability access front and center, The Dot Experience aims to be the most accessible museum in the world. Even though The Dot Experience won’t open until l 2026, there is still a great need for education about the world of blindness and low vision, which is ..read more

A new file standard will soon be available for braille readers! Created by APH and partners around the world, eBraille allows braille and tactile graphics to be read together in one electronic document for the first time ever. It will also work on any multiline braille display, including the Monarch, which is set to release in September 2024. Creation of eBraille “We’re at the beginning of another braille revolution,” said Willow Free, co-chair of the eBraille Working Group. The first major multiline braille display release, it won’t be the last. The current braille file types are not reflowab ..read more

Jessica Minneci, APH’s Communications Associate, composes blogs during work and spends her nights drafting novels. One-line braille displays assist with these tasks, but 40 characters aren’t enough compared to a full computer screen of print available to a sighted person. APH’s Monarch aims to level the playing field with its 10-line by 32-cell display that shows braille and tactile graphics on the same surface. Jessica was introduced to the Monarch in 2023 when the APH team gave a demonstration of the device. “I cried happy tears after that meeting,” said Jessica. “Having the Monarch in my ha ..read more

Celebrated annually on the third Thursday of May, Global Accessibility Awareness Day (GAAD) recognizes digital access and inclusion for those with multiple disabilities. While some might think of accessibility as only physical or digital, accessibility encompasses several aspects of both the physical and digital world, aiming to ensure that all spaces are accessible for those with various disabilities. Danielle Burton, Communications Accessibility Editor at the American Printing House for the Blind (APH), says she would encourage people who are new to accessibility to think of it as something ..read more