Braille Neue is a dual typeface designed by Kosuke Takahashi that overlays Braille and English into one simple font. For sighted people who do not currently know Braille, it’s also a great mnemonic for learning Braille characters.
Takahashi lays out his design philosophy:
Currently, we rarely see braille implemented in the public space since it takes additional space and sighted people consider it not important. Braille Neue addresses this issue by making braille easy to use for sighted people. By spreading this typeset I believe more people will get acquainted with braille.
I also conducted a research to see if large signage with braille was readable for blind people.Through the research, I found out that as long as there is the 6 dotted pattern, it is possible for them to read it regardless of its size. Braille tends to be small and invisible, but with Braille Neue it has the possibility to expand spatially into public signages in new ways.
With Braille Neue, it is also possible to overwrite existing signage in public space by adjusting the kerning. It is easy to implement into the existing infrastructure and is a stepping stone for a sustainable and inclusive future.
It would be interesting to experiment with different colors of the raised dots to make the lettering more legible for sighted people. Visual Braille is a monochrome font that uses dots and dashes:
Takahashi has also translated Braille neue into Japanese characters. All very cool iterations.
• Braille Neue | Characters with braille (via Spoon & Tamago)