Get ready for an enlightening journey as we delve into an exclusive interview with the talented visually impaired freelancer, Yejin Go. She's ready to open up about how Braille plays a role in her life. Let's dive in and discover her amazing experiences and adventures! And don't miss out on hearing about her latest explorations with her trusty Dot Pad.
Join us as we uncover her captivating experiences and her unique story with the Dot Pad!
#01. Introducing Myself
Hey everyone,
I'd love to give you a quick intro about me. I'm Yejin Go, a freelancer who wears many hats. You can usually find me proofreading Braille textbooks and spreading awareness about disabilities. I also work as a counselor for people with moderate visual impairments. Great to meet you all!
#02. Getting Friendly with Dot Pad
You may have heard rumors about Dot Pad, but let me tell you, using it firsthand gave me a really well-made feeling with the Braille cell layout. Plus, it's lightweight that it's perfect for carrying around anytime, anywhere.
And the fact that it distinguishes between the multi-line 'graphic' area and the single-line 'text' area makes reading super convenient. The only downside? The price is a bit steep! lol
Q. So far, I've been inspecting various tactile contents through Dot Pad. If there's any impressive content you've come across, please share it with me!
A. The graph and chart content was really impressive. Looking at different graphs and charts would be really helpful for practical learning. Also, I remember the picture content designed for visually impaired individuals. It was great to be able to feel the details by touching the Harry Potter logo shape directly.
Tactile graphic image of a Venn diagram drwaing created on Dot Canvas.
Tactile graphic image of a histogram created on Dot Canvas.
Tactile graphic image of the Harry Potter logo created on Dot Canvas.
Q. What is the most important thing you consider when reviewing tactile graphic content?
A. When reviewing tactile graphic content, the most important thing to consider is whether it's easy for visually impaired individuals to understand quickly and intuitively. It's key to differentiate between different elements by using methods like varying line thicknesses, allowing for quick identification. While everyone may have their own reading preferences, my focus was on ensuring that the content is accessible and understandable for a wide range of visually impaired individuals. This way, I believe many people will find Dot's tactile graphic content easier to comprehend.
She is inspecting the 'line chart' created on Dot Canvas.
#03. The Char of Braille
Q. I heard that Yejin can read Korean, English, and Japanese Braille. I'm curious about how Braille differs in each language.
A. In Korean, there are consonant clusters known as 'mukja.' These are written as visual letters by sighted people. While mukja follows a block writing system, Braille uses an uncontracted writing system. One challenge with Braille is that it often ends up longer than mukja. To tackle this problem, Braille incorporates 'abbreviations' and 'contractions' for added convenience. Thanks to these, Braille tends to be shorter compared to mukja.
A. I found English Braille a bit tricky because of all the contractions and abbreviations it uses. Figuring out when to use them and when not to, and understanding the rules behind them, made it quite a challenge. Although English Braille can make reading quicker with its many contractions, there's a downside: blind people might struggle with the correct spelling. For instance, they might only know "CD" instead of "Could." That's why learning Korean Braille might be a bit easier in this aspect.
Q. Oh, that's fascinating! When it comes to Japanese Braille, Japanese relies on three main writing systems: "Hiragana, Katakana, Kanji." How are these systems represented in Braille?
A. Japanese consists of kanji, hiragana, and katakana, allowing words to be distinguished without spaces, but Japanese Braille only represents pronunciation, making it difficult to distinguish words. Therefore, Braille uses spaces not found in written Japanese, and spacing rules can be complex depending on the context.
For learners, reading only the pronunciation is enough, but professionals need a high level of Japanese proficiency and vocabulary. Furthermore, Japanese Braille often requires adding spaces because it primarily represents pronunciation, making word distinction difficult. Spacing and spelling rules can be complex depending on the context, requiring considerable expertise to create a Braille-related book.
Q. Imagine if we rewind to when Yejin first started learning Braille, I wonder how she would've made the most out of the Dot Pad.
A. When diving into Braille for the first time, I'd prefer training with multi-lines. At the start, those dots are tiny and not exactly easy to feel, so it's gonna take a heap of practice. I think using the Dot Pad would've made reading Braille a breeze. Beginning with those big braille characters and slowly shrinking them down as you get the hang of it, I bet you could read those small braille characters.
Q. How do you think assistive Braille devices have changed the way Braille is used?
A. Totally cahgned. Digital Braille devices like the Dot Pad are way more portable compared to analog Braille documents. Back in the day, visually impaired students used to lug around travel cases just to carry their books. Imagine, one thin textbook in print equals two or three hefty volumes in Braille – it's a real hassle.
With the Dot Pad, I can quickly create and view the images I want, which is super convenient. Normally, if a visually impaired person wants to see a picture, they'd have to request it from a welfare center, and that process can take ages. But with the Dot Pad, you can just view it right away without any fuss. Plus, the Dot Pad even has a feature that converts pictures displayed on Apple devices into tactile content.
So yeah, I believe the advent of digital Braille devices has greatly improved the lives of visually impaired individuals.
#04. Contents Team story
Q. If there were more content you could access besides what is offered through the Dot Pad, what would you like to see?
A. I'm really into shopping. It's hard for me to infer the shape of products because I can't see product photos on online shopping sites. Even though there's usually a description available, I often struggle to understand terms describing the shape properly, which makes it difficult for me to decide which clothes to buy. That's why I think it would be great to have content that makes it easy to see the shape and features of clothes.
Also, it would be incredibly convenient to be able to view maps of subway station layouts on the Dot Pad. And content showing national flags, traditional costumes, and animal shapes would also be useful. If there were features that could teach Braille formats to visually impaired individuals, it would be much more educational!
Q. Who do you think would get the most out of using the Dot Pad?
A. I think visually impaired kids would find it super useful for learning with joy. Kids are all about pictures rather than text, aren't they? And I bet it'd also be a big help for folks with both visual and hearing impairments. For those who rely solely on touch to take in the world around them, having access to different tactile info through the Dot Pad would be a real game-changer.
Q. If you have any wishes or suggestions for the Dot Content Team, feel free to share!
A. I'm really grateful for all the new initiatives for visually impaired individuals. I used to just vaguely wonder how great it would be to have products like the Dot Pad, but knowing there's a team working so hard on it right here, close to us, is just amazing.
I'd love to see more features added and improvements made to the Dot Pad. It'd be fantastic if it could do things like typing text and even having audio capabilities. I wonder if that could push its capabilities beyond what it can do now?
I hope one day the Dot Pad can be like the ultimate tool for visually impaired folks, like their all-in-one laptop. Though if that happens, I imagine the price might be as much as a small car hahaha. 😂