Tactile Colour logo. A capital C made of red, orange, yellow and green bands touched from below by a blue hand.
Tactile Colour Communication would like to introduce you to our Map Making project.

We are a Non-Profit society that provides services to blind and visually impaired individuals. Our mandate is to assist people to share information, learn and have fun. We wish to encourage the understanding, promotion and sustainable evolution of blind and visually impaired people in the community. Our project "Making Maps with Tactile Colour" will provide access, mobility and recreation, to people with disabilities for the purpose of independence and integration.

The project is in three parts:

Part 1. A survey to find out what blind and visually impaired people want from a map and how it should be presented.

Part 2 Workshops where you will work with a sighted map maker to create a map of your choice. The workshops will be held in 14 communities in BC.

Part 3. From the information gained from the survey and the workshops, Tactile Colour will print highly visual tactile maps of the main roads, structure and amenities of Vancouver and Victoria. They will be made available through the CNIB and by request to Tactile Colour Communication Society.

This project will use Tactile Colour, which is a system of textures to represent colours. There are twelve distinctive textures screen-printed on self-adhesive sheets in bold colours, which will be used in the workshops. Tactile Colour can also be printed in several textured colours to print the maps of the cities. A blind person can feel the difference between the textures, with or without reference to the colours. A visually impaired person has the benefit of the bold colours, and can touch the textures of the colours that are difficult to see.

Part 1, the survey. People in Vancouver and Victoria are being asked to take part in our survey. We will run several survey sessions at different locations in the cities during May and June 2003. We can reimburse Hand-I-dart costs for 100 attendees who would like transport. When the Mapmaking project is completed the participants will receive a tactile map of Victoria or Vancouver.

Part 2, the workshops: In the workshops you will partner with a sighted map maker and learn how to make the ideal map of a location of your choosing, for example: complex intersections, campuses, malls, public buildings, parks, a neighbourhood or roads between communities. You will also be able to say what information is included on the map and how large you want it. If possible map makers will go to the site with you or on their own to check the accuracy of the print map and record additional information you may want on your map. You will choose the type of labelling you want, help design the legend and choose the textures or colours used on the map. If you choose to work with a friend or relative we will train each of you in the art of making tactile maps or we can partner you with one of our volunteers. This work is very rewarding for the sighted volunteers and you can continue working together to make more maps outside the workshops.

We are holding these workshops in 14 communities in BC, but there is only room for six people in each workshop, which will be awarded on a first-come-first-served basis. If we have more demand for the workshops than we have seats we will raise more funding to hold more workshops. There will be two or three two hour workshops held in each community. There will be no charge to participate in the survey or workshops and the resultant maps will be free to the participants.

Please communicate your desire to participate in the surveys and workshops and to receive the maps by writing or calling Tactile Colour.
Contact us thru Email: maps@tactile.org
Phone in Victoria area: 250-480-1610
Or leave a message in Vancouver area: 604-682-3269 ext 7070
Or phone 1-888-600-1931

Thanks, to the funding organizations of the Vancouver Foundation, QLT, Coast Capital Savings Foundation, The Chris Spencer Foundation and the BC Gaming Commission we are able to proceed with our project "Making Maps with Tactile Colour".

Send Email to maps@tactile.org

Phone in Victoria area: 250-480-1610

Or leave a message in Vancouver area: 604-682-3269 ext 7070

or send a letter to
   Tactile Colour Communication Society
   402-2136 Ridge Road, Victoria, BC, V8T 3E9, Canada

Return to the Project page.