2018 – 2019 Chronological Timeline
Spring 2018
April
Type Director’s Club – April 5th
As the ELIA Frames is a font, we met with Carol Wahler from the Type Director’s Club in Manhattan, NY. She noted that font design expertise hasn’t been brought to bare for the blind and said that the Type Directors Guild would be glad to support ELIA Frames.
Ready, Set, Campaign – April 13th and 18th
A year ago, we pursued crowdfunding. We were fortunate to collaborate with the best of the best to share our message. They included:
• Van Alexandra - the leading crowdfunding and PR agency
• Order Design - legendary industrial and graphic designers
• Russell Marketing - They helped identify relevant audiencesfor advertisements and helped us rapidly expand our community
• Christian Mrockza - video production team helped us record and share our story
• Claire Periard (Social Media and Project Management) and Chris Wigington (Website Usability) helped the team in Brooklyn manage the various communication channels
At the same time, we were finishing our metal plate design for the Smithsonian Cooper Hewitt Design Museum exhibit “The Senses: Design Beyond Vision.” The exhibit debuted on April 13th. Our Kickstarter Campaign launched on April 18th, 2018.
May
Commercial Printers – May 4th and 7th
From the start of the campaign, we planned to have the Learner’s Manual (from the Starter Kit) printed with embossing plates. We chose Cannelli Printing in West Haven, CT to print the manual.
Through our campaign, hundreds of people reached out to us to ask how they could help. Kevin Abergel from MGI Digital Graphic Technology (affiliated with Konica Minolta) contacted us and introduced our team to a new form of tactile printing that uses a cured UV ink. After receiving some beautiful samples, we began working with Tracy and Jeffrey Cole from C&T Print Finishing from South Windsor, CT. This new technology can print mass volumes of text, and is significantly more efficient than our current wax printing process. We are currently working with C&T Printing to produce large volume materials (such as “The Little Zen Companion”).
Hyperakt – May 18th
Andrew presented the design and history of the ELIA Frames™ font at the Hyperakt Design Agency in Gowanus, Brooklyn. The best principles of industrial design and I/O psychology were discussed, and people asked indepth questions about our research methods. This was the first of many talks with designers interested in tactile literacy. Click here to view the presentation online.
Washington DC Public Library – May 19th
Andrew Presented ELIA Frames to staff and readers at the DC public library. They agreed that once content is available in ELIA Frames (through C&T Printing and others), the Library would carry it and offer it to their patrons.
Campaign Milestones – May 20th
We ended our campaign on a high note, raising a total of $34,897 from 613 backers! The community showed it’s support for the Starter Kit, Keyboard, Poster, Classroom Kit, and Steel Plate. We had significant press coverage, including Popular Science, 99u, Springwise, Graphic Design USA, BBC Radio, and more. The campaign confirmed that people are keen to use ELIA products. It was also worthwhile in terms of systemizing our message and in-house operations.
Summer 2018
June
Byron Adventures in DC – June 28th and 29th
Byron visits Washington D.C. for two key events.
Patrick Timony from the Center for Accessibility at the DC Public Library invited ELT to hold a follow up workshop. Byron taught the crowd how to read ELIA, and held a discussion as to how to foster relationships and spark local interest. We are currently working with Patrick to send more reading materials to the DC Public Library.
The second event was held at the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Maria Zacharias and Lesley Earl from the National Eye Institute (NEI) reached out to ELT to participate in the 50th Anniversary Symposium: Low Vision and Vision Rehabilitation. Byron demonstrated ELIA alongside Massachussets Eye and Ear, Chadwick Optical, and Roboglasses. The nation’s top experts in vision research showed support and provided useful feedback.
Andrew Adventures in CT and MA - June 28
Andrew traveled to Connecticut to meet with Tracy and Jeffrey Cole of C&T Printing and to work with their MGI Printer. He also met with product development firms, to interview them for collaboration developing the TouchPrinter.
July
Moment Design – July 19th
Hanley Wang and Steph Rymer, Senior Designers from the Moment Design Agency, invited our team to talk to their summer interns. The collaboration was fruitful: Andrew reviewed the history and design process, Byron discussed the pilot program and tactile map design, and Adam Linn provided insight for the student’s inclusive design projects.
ELT collaborated with the team of students to produce a set of tactile street maps of Madison Square Garden. The maps were paired with their design project so users could pair a wayfinding phone application with a real map. Moment Design is partnered with Verizon for in-house customer experience design.
August
Paul Barton of HP – TouchPrinter Discussions and Introduction to Simplexity
We have a long standing relationship with HP. Our main contact there, Paul Barton, who leads the Specialty Printing Systems division of the company, visited to discuss the printer’s development and how we might collaborate with HP. One of the suggestions he made was that rather than build a large engineering team to complete the second phase of the printer’s development, ELIA Life should engage one of HP’s partner product development partners. After discussions with the various product development firms, ELIA Life chose to work with Simplexity PD (more on that collaboration in another newsletter, as it is ongoing).
Our First Testimonial – August 23rd
As our Community and Design Consultant, Adam Linn has been a key teammate over the past year. Our collaboration started in the spring of 2018. Since then, he has provided useful insights for how best to get ELIA into our supporters’ hands.
Another major milestone for ELT was recording the first ELIA Testimonial Video. With Christian’s help, we filmed a 90 second video showcasing why and how Adam uses ELIA with his family. The video was shot beautifully, and is the first of many testimonials to come. Click here to view the video!
Fall 2018
October
Updated Font – October 1st
At the start of fall, the team worked to update the ELIA Frames™ font for download. The “A”, “B”, “J”, “S”, “U”, as well as the numbers 0 through 9 were given design treatments by our Industrial Designer Reed DeWinter. We also added the upper and lower case letters as well as punctuation.
If you have not already, click here to download to font. We are eager to see how the community designs with ELIA!
ASME Rising Star Award – October 11th
ELT was nominated for the American Society of Mechanical Engineers Award for the TouchPrinter. This nomination was made possible through the hard work of Walter Stoekmann (Mechanical Engineer), Steve Getz (Electrical Engineer), Dan Periard (Systems Engineer) and Reed DeWinter (ID). Andrew attended the ceremony.
National Federation of the Blind– October 11th and 12th
Byron traveled to Baltimore to visit the National Federation of the Blind (NFB) headquarters in Baltimore, MD and attend its Tactile Graphics in Education and Careers Symposium. There, Byron met and listened to a variety of experts on tactile design, including
• Sue-Ann Ma and Nicole Johnson from Benetech
• Jenna Gorlewicz, Corrine Mueller, and Haydem Dahmm of Vital
• Steve Landau from Touch Graphics
• Abigail Stangl and Ann Cuningham of the University of Colorado- Boulder and the Colorado Center for the Blind
• Michael Cheverie and Neal McKenzie, inclusive educators from California
• Brian McDonald from the National Braille Press
• Suzanne Proctor, a teacher for the visually impaired
• Amy Hurst from the University of Maryland- Baltimore County
• Anica Zlotescu from the Blind Industries and Services of Maryland
November
Social Venture Circle – November 1st
Andrew became a member of the Social Venture Circle. This networking group is composed of social impact investors and entrepreneurs. Discussions with members of the community have helped focus ELT’s operational efforts and to broaden our fundraising efforts and focus on potential impact investment.
3M – November 30th
Who do you contact when you want to figure out how best to stick a label to a surface? Answer: the team at 3M of course!
Alec Ties, a Converter Specialist at 3M, has helped ELT develop tactile label prototypes for the pilot reader program. Their adhesive transfer samples have been a major addition to our team’s resources. Since our collaboration, we have been prototyping and testing different labels, including spices, clothing colors, administrative filing folders, and microwave button labels.
December
Ontario College of Art and Design – University – December 12th
Professor Cheryl Giraudy has shown interest in the ELIA Frames since the campaign began. She invited us to host a web workshop with students and faculty from the Inclusive Design Research Centre (IDRC) at Ontario College of Art and Design – University (OCADU). This was another valuable design talk, as Andrew and Byron shared the ELIA story, implications, and future projects. OCADU is the first place to have an ELIA Keyboard prototype.
Making a Movement – December 27th
After meeting with a handful of advisors and investors, ELT has strategized how best to service our readers. In order for people to understand the importance of tactile literacy, they need to first understand the significant impact that blindness and visual impairment can have.
That is why we are working to build community around a movement. We are currently planning events for our audience(s).
2019
January
Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce – January 11th
Andrew met with the Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce to discuss how local companies could better serve people who have a visual impairment.
Simplexity Product Development – January 16th
In order to prepare our printer for commercialization, HP suggested that we talk with Simplexity Product Development. Simplexity PD has the most experience with HP printers. Many of them worked for HP previously, and their team was eager to apply their expertise to a new printer design for the blind. We scheduled six weekly conference calls to discuss the options for commercialization. ELT will be sure to share updates as we move from Phase 0 to Phase 1 of the printer.
FutureWorks – January 16th
Andrew was accepted as a member of the Futureworks NYC Incubator. Futureworks is a great networking opportunity for advanced manufacturing resources within and around NYC. This year, Andrew was also accepted as a mentor to provide advice to other entrepreneurs.
TED Residency Interview – January 14th
Andrew was selected for final interviews for the NYC TED Residency program. Andrea Li’s condition declined shortly thereafter and he withdrew his application.
February
Getting In Touch With Literacy Conference Application – February 22nd
The team filled out an application for the Getting In Touch With Literacy Conference to be exhibitors and the proposal was accepted. The team will demonstrate the Frames in Seattle, WA this upcoming November 13th – 16th.
March
Project Inkblot – March 14th
Adam and Byron held a meeting with Jahan Mantin and Boyuan Gao from Project Inkblot, a company from NEW INC. They are experts at helping companies implement design systems for equitable products and services.
The meeting was highly valuable. Project Inkblot asks thought provoking questions to help companies better understand their audiences, including those individuals that may not be affected by the company’s mission. ELT uses their “target audience vs impact audience” framework to strategize for the community. Our impact audience is made up of those who are blind or have a visual impairment in which we wish to directly serve with reading materials, labels, and more. The target audience (i.e. sighted), while not influenced by ELIA directly, can help us build a community of people that support our mission, and can help spread word of the movement to others.
In certain cases, the two groups can overlap.
Y Combinator Application – March 25th
Y Combinator is an accelerator based in Silicon Valley. Their program has helped launch startups such as AirBnB, Stripe, and Dropbox.
Amélie Lamont – March 29th
As a mentor at NEW INC, Amélie Lamont shares her product design expertise with various companies. She is also on the AIGA Committee of Inclusion in Design.
Andrew and Byron met with Amélie during one of her office hour sessions to ask how to improve the reader pilot program. Amélie provided great feedback, specifically on refining ELT’s case study methodology. This is useful for improving participant feedback for current and future readers.
April
Core77 Application – April 1st
The Core77 Design Awards highlight projects across 18 different categories, including “Design for Social Impact”, “Service Design”, “Crowdfunding”, and “Consumer Technology”.
The ELIA Frames were honored as “Notable” for the Crowdfunding category for this award.
ELIA Workshop – April 15th
The team held a group workshop with three blind individuals who have never interacted with ELIA. The workshop was scheduled for two hours. This time constraint led to formatting a new “training” manual to get people comfortable with reading by touch as quickly as possible.
Our workshop was a success. The “tactile pre-literacy” page design proved helpful. That page was used to establish a foundation for tactile reading strategies. An hour into the workshop the group was helping each other read sentences, so much so that ELT instruction was not needed to keep the conversation going.
May
Bari Azman – May 9th
ELT met with Bari Azman, the Vice President of Marketing and Technology at Low Vision Specialists (LVS) of Maryland and Virginia.
The team at LVS is a well-established hub for low vision resources. Their mission is to help serve people with a visual impairment through traditional services and with new assistive technology devices.
Bari will collaborate with ELIA on a number of efforts. ELT is planning to hold workshops at the LVS building in the coming months. ELT will also sponsor an upcoming USA book tour for The Blind Poet.
Evan Wray of TrailMix VCs – May
Evan Wray of TrailMix VC has been kind enough to share his advice. He has a solid understanding of fonts and licensing (and sold his firm to Monotype Imaging, a font foundry). We will remain in contact with him to help us grow and serve our community, and to prepare for branding and licensing to major corporations.
Evan recommended that we start to demonstrate the size of the total addressable market. This speaks directly to our goal of making ELIA a movement - ELIA can help people achieve greater independence, and our community can in turn help inform the larger market.
June
Andy Palmer, founder of Tamr - June 6th Andrew and Andy Palmer had a preliminary call. They also discussed how to build a movement. Andy suggested that moving beyond incremental progress and having an enormous impact on people’s lives is most quickly achieved by partnering with companies that already have scale and serve large swaths of the market. He shared some examples of companies to pursue for licensing. As a next step, Andrew will be speaking with a licensing lawyer later this month.
Assistive Technology Industry Association (ATIA) Application – June 17th
Andrew and Byron completed an ATIA abstract submission for the Assistive Technology Industry Association (ATIA), one of the biggest assistive tech conferences in the world.
July
ELIA Workshop – July 31st
The team held another group workshop with ELIA Readers including blind community teachers and family members. After teaching the alphabet, we asked them to share their thoughts on ELIA for a separate video, which will be released soon.
August
Center for Translation of Rehabilitation Engineering Advances and Technology (TREAT) Application - August 8th
Our abstract proposal for the ELIA Mechanical Keyboard was accepted by TREAT, part of NIH's Medical Rehabilitation Resource Network (MR3).