How about replacing the traditional picture you find on a calendar with a tactile 'image' - one you enjoy and experience by touching it.
I am pactiularly thinking of the effect you get when touching the kenya hara juice cartons.

Will

Rather than stressing the "enjoy and experience" aspect, I think you should aim towards utility. I suspect the blind would prefer something that is quick and easy to use.

Also, define calendar. Today it can be a list of days, weeks, and months, or something that one puts appoints into (Outlook Calendar).

Might as well define blind as well, since there are the totally blind, and those who have limited vision, yet are legally blind.

Braille.

Thank you Will and Don.Even i thought of Utility for blind.But i dont want to work only with braille.coz many people would have done it before.Since this is my thesis project..i wish to do something completely different.
How bout constructing 3d shapes.and top of that mayb dates n months with braille.
I am still thinking over it.
Any suggestions are most welcome

The topic of my project is" A Manual containing Guidelines for any space design experience for The Blind"
Under this i am explaining about various tools any designer can use while working with blind.
Like sound smell airflow temperature to help blind navigate in any space.
Calendar and invitation design for blind is a part of this project.
Its challenging for me because there are no refrences anywhr.

Sorry, i figured it would be a braille calendar and you were just wanting to make it a bit more interesting.
With the new explanation i would try and find a method of representing the calendar which is primarily physical and move away from alll letterforms (both coventional and braille) completely.
How about starting by looking at aztec or egyptian systems, or by looking at planetary positions.

Will

For an invitation, in a context involving the visually impaired (you may wish want to consider that nomenclature if you already haven't), I would start playing with giant embossed type, with black ink printed and registered on top of the embossment. I'd want to see it from 100 feet away and feel it with my eyes closed.

Old fashioned eye charts might be a reference, and there's the Sloan font (scroll down about three screens and there’s a little blue link to download. It’s free).

Give them mud for November, snow for December, ice for January, seasonal flowers for the different months of spring and summer, straw for autumn, etc.

Thank you everyone for your valuable suggestions!!

How about some kind of interactive object make sound or noise, that they can hear and feel that "texture", not physically.

im working with sound n other senses in my space design for blind.Il be creating a manual which will contain all the guidelines regarding sound n smell.But calendar should be only touch experience.I feel.

I watched my mother-in-law sign for many decades and ultimately had to teach our third child sign language as he did not speak until almost 4... nothing mind you except mama and dada and about 5 other words.

Met a fellow (who was blind) when I was an art director, back in the early '90's, and we hit it off. My father was basically blind in one eye as a result of an eye injury in the war so I had a teeny bit of sensibilty about this dilemma. To this day my eyes are so empathetic that if some ones tears up I am a goner. After a couple of weeks of talk I asked my friend what he felt he missed in the seeing world. To my surprise he said "NOTHING." He loved textures, things he could feel, touch and smell. Well that was all I needed. I started bring him things that I found interesting to touch and smell. He said the nastiest thing was a wet spent Hibiscus blossom, the best smell was a Gardenia bloom and his girlfriends body was the best sensation in the world.

Thanks for dredging up that friendship, he has since passed away.

Texture and odor might be the way to go.

It's odd now that I have typed this I remember I did a cover and inside lettering for a book by Random House called "The Stinky Book." Loaded with scratch and sniff....... what fun : )

Michael

Thank u micheal for sharing your wonderful thoughts,.
Its amazing how blind enjoy their own world with their other senses.They probably dont know what they are missing..coz they are not aware of such things..

Many people feel sympathy for blind..but that attitute is very very wrong.Blind doesnt need any sympathy..all they need is education and inspiration to go forward in life.

Here I am designing a manual which will have guidelines as how a blind can visit a museum or any space for that matter.I hope il be able to finish it successfully!!

They probably dont know what they are missing..coz they are not aware of such things..

Some people lose sight later in life, they are not all born blind. Is this a student project?

yeah my thesis project..

Graduate or undergraduate thesis?

Undergraduate.just have one month to finish!

hi everyone.M doing a research on sounds for my blind project,
i need sounds of particular moods.
Like happy sounds
sad sounds
energetic sounds
peaceful sounds and so on.
like rain wud be happy n positive
n thunder would be energetic...
plz let me know if any suggestions.

people please help me.does anyone know what is happy sound, happy smell, happy touch for blind?

I think smell, sound and touch might be a little off topic for typophile. Try contacting an organization like The National Association for the Blind-Delhi. Learning good research skills is an important part of large projects in both academia and corporate culture.

>does anyone know what is happy sound, happy smell, happy touch for blind?

Blind people don't have different emotions to sighted people...think about what sounds and smells make *you* happy.

Take note of Don’s comment – a high percentage of the legally blind are not totally without sight – so you should include some visual element.

If you are going to have sound, you could also look at a recording/playing device that could at the touch of a button read appointments for the day.

Tim