tactileSynths

tactilesyn?s

Part of synthaccess

ABILITY Project / Integrated Design & Media
NYU

Files:

• README.md - this file
• Style Guide - PDF style guide
• ARP2600TTSH - tactile guide for the ARP 2600 / TTSH
• common - folder containing common JavaScript code for all versions
• elements - folder of EPS and SVG tactile elements

tactileSynths consist of a collection of tactile guides and standards for synthesizers. These are currently designed to be printed using swell-form or UV printing as little booklets, with the goal of allowing a B/LV user to “feel” the synthesizer interface as a spatial map on a page while working with the physical hardware.

We provide a standard vocabulary of tactile symbols in the Style Guide and the elements folder - for example, different crosshatch patterns to give different feels for inputs and outputs on modular systems. These are especially useful for legacy (non-MIDI-aware) synthesizers that have a densely packed physical interface; conceptually, tactile guides are one of the only ways to do accessibility with things like Eurorack-format modular equipment where the affordance space is too small to accommodate braille.