The book I made is in response to the question ‘How would someone survive the apocalypse if they were blind’. My initial idea for the project was to make a apocalypse survival guide, but through research I was led to a forum online where people were discussing the possibility of a blind character surviving the apocalypse. I thought it was an interesting idea so I set out to answer their ques- tion.
The project also allowed me experiment with a new visual language I didn’t know much about, and that was Braille. To make the booklet as offi- cial as possible I visited the Royal National Insti- tute For The Blind to pay the correct paper and equipment to make the braille that would normally be used. This is also where I learnt the braille alphabet.
The illustration on the cover is of a x-ray of the human skull when the word ‘Darkness’ is being said. On a trip to the British library I came across a science book that examined the human skull and brain when different words were being said. I made a sketch of the out line of the skull and then re-drew on illustrator to go onto the cover of the book.
For the surival guides I found all the information from ‘offical’ apocalypse websites and from films.
front cover outcome/explained
FACE SKULL DRAWING IS THE WORD DARK TAKEN FROM THE BOOK ‘English Diction for the Singer by Lloyd Pfautsch, Lawson-Gould Music Publishers, NY, 1971
"...drawings will show the changes of jaw, tongue, and lip position involved in the preceding sequence of vowel sounds. The overlays should make it possible for these changes to be seen graphically. Keep in mind that these positions are not meant to be absolutes."
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from the list I made after the discussion with my group, the one idea which I found most interesting was the idea of using braille to convoy the message of 'How To Survive The Apocalypse'. as I wanted the book to be tongue in cheek and a pointless How To guide, I thought this would suit well. I began by looking at the braille alphabet.
After exploring further into the ideal of the apocalypse I came across a forum with this message posted -
(http://absolutewrite.com/forums/showthread.php?290166-Post-apocalypse-character-who-goes-blind)
Post-apocalypse character who goes blind?
Hi, I'm Lex, I'm new here c: Looking for some advice for a book I'm planning, set in a post-apocalyptic world. My main character has been blind in his right eye for years and has learned to adjust, but I'm planning on having his other eye be ripped out later in the book. Since this is a post-apocalyptic world, he'll have no technology or Braille to help him cope with losing his sight, so he'll probably just have a crude cane and nothing else. Any advice of how I should write his reactions to being blind, and how he can cope without modern inventions?I thought was an interesting idea that completely ties my idea together, so I set out to look into a bit more and answer the question that was posted above.
The post-apocalyptic checklist:
1. Food
This does not need explaining. Making sure that you have available supplies of food and water in case of a societal collapse is top priority. The best way to do this by special considerations in food storage. Make sure that the food you’re going to store is handy, light, and most of all, can keep well despite changes in temperature and moisture. The best examples of these are survival food kits or emergency food kits that are made up of food items specially design can be used ford for worst-case scenarios. Canned goods, and lightweight freeze-dried, or dried fruits are some of the usual food items you should stock up on.
2. Water
Even more important than food is water. An average human can last for a week without food but he cannot survive for more than 3 days without water. To secure water for you and your family, it would be best to have access to your own water supply. This is best done by having your deep own well. But since not everyone has access to this, it would also be a good idea to keep big water containers. Having water containers means it would be easier to store rain water which can be used for drinking in dire situations.
3. Medicine
Regularly, one just has to drive a couple of blocks to get to the nearest pharmacy and buy his/her needed medicines. In the event of a societal collapse however, this is no longer possible. Hence it would be wise to keep your own emergency survival kit which has a stock of medical supplies that you might need for emergencies. A typical survival kit should contain some antiseptic for keeping wounds clean and antibiotics to fight off infections.
4. Shelter
In extremely dire situations, you and your family might need to leave your house and move to a safer place. In case you have to make a long trip, it will always be helpful to have easy access to a mobile shelter such as a simple tent. This tent should be lightweight and big enough to give temporary shelter to you and your family. Having a tent will give your family temporary shelter while still searching moving or searching into a more permanent one.
5. Fire-starters
Situations where arise where you might need to be able to make a fire either for cooking food, keeping warm, keeping wild animals away during the night, or making a signal. That is why it is essential that you be able to start a fire on your own. The most obvious way to do this is by keeping a handy and sturdy lighter. There are survival lighters in the market that are water-resistant and extremely durable. In the direst of dire situations, you might also need to start making a fire without a lighter. Hence, it becomes important to know the type of materials that you could use to start a fire, such as flint and steel.
6. Communications
In case of a total societal collapse, you and your family might be cut out from communication from other people. The internet, radio, and television might go down and you won’t have any chance for outside communication and information. Yet it would still be helpful to carry around walkie talkies, or mobile radios in case any authority figure or survivors such as yourself might attempt to make contact. Radios that are solar powered or powered by a dynamo are good alternatives to battery operated ones.
Discovering braille
I was excited to start looking a new visual language that I hadn't used before, so to fully understand the way braille works I visited RNIB to get some advice on what I should do. Here I got guidance on;
Correct paper to use
Stylus to make the bumps
How to understand the alphabet
Group Project
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part of todays outcome we needed to join a group and collectively come together to find a solution for something that effects the community and everyday life. as a group we wanted to stop advertisements showing only consumerism and instead, something productive. we agreed that these kind of advertisements played a part in people having less money and a lack of knowledge on, what we thought, were important things to know about the world.
the idea for our advertisements were to be up the minute news of relevant, for example we would show information regarding the pollution issue in London and the boards would, instead of adverts, would show that days levels of pollution and also have posters to show ways to help bring the levels down.
we wanted the posters to very informal looking and 'messy', as we felt as the topic was quite serious, we didn't want to put people off of them.