Successful submission to the 2022 ISTD Student Awards, in response to the “Shaping The World” brief about books that have significantly changed the world. The 1829 book Procedure for writing words, music and plainsong in dots by Louis Braille is the first manual to explain how to read and write using the braille system.

To show the slow but enormous impact of Braille’s book, this publication is split into 6 parts, reflecting 6 significant points on a timeline from 1815 to today. Each part of the publication is in a different format (leaflet, booklet, timeline, map, poster, and envelope with loose sheets.) All are based on a grid derived from the structure of a braille cell.

Playing on the equivalence between braille and print, the 6 parts of the publication are housed in a custom-made acrylic slipcase that can sit on a bookcase. A visual analogy also runs throughout between the 4 original dots of braille and the 4 spot colours in CMYK printing: the pages become more colourful as braille becomes more widespread and its impact stronger.