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From Vision to Touch: Bridging Visual and Tactile Principles for Accessible Data Representation

Kim Marriott, Matthew Butler, Leona Holloway, Bill Jolley, Bongshin Lee, Bruce Maguire, Danielle Albers Szafir

TL;DR

This paper addresses the gap in understanding the benefits of tactile information graphics relative to text and visual graphics for blind and low-vision users. It introduces a three-component framework—encoding, perception, and cognition—to analyze and compare how visual and tactile representations support data understanding. Through theoretical analysis grounded in Ware, Munzner, and Streeb, the authors identify where tactile graphics align with or diverge from visual graphics, highlighting constraints such as tactile acuity and the need for slower, conscious exploration. The work culminates in a tactile-first design stance, outlining design guidelines, key research gaps, and a prioritized agenda to advance perceptual and cognitive efficacy in tactile data visualization.

Abstract

Tactile graphics are widely used to present maps and statistical diagrams to blind and low vision (BLV) people, with accessibility guidelines recommending their use for graphics where spatial relationships are important. Their use is expected to grow with the advent of commodity refreshable tactile displays. However, in stark contrast to visual information graphics, we lack a clear understanding of the benefits that well-designed tactile information graphics offer over text descriptions for BLV people. To address this gap, we introduce a framework considering the three components of encoding, perception and cognition to examine the known benefits for visual information graphics and explore their applicability to tactile information graphics. This work establishes a preliminary theoretical foundation for the tactile-first design of information graphics and identifies future research avenues.

From Vision to Touch: Bridging Visual and Tactile Principles for Accessible Data Representation

TL;DR

This paper addresses the gap in understanding the benefits of tactile information graphics relative to text and visual graphics for blind and low-vision users. It introduces a three-component framework—encoding, perception, and cognition—to analyze and compare how visual and tactile representations support data understanding. Through theoretical analysis grounded in Ware, Munzner, and Streeb, the authors identify where tactile graphics align with or diverge from visual graphics, highlighting constraints such as tactile acuity and the need for slower, conscious exploration. The work culminates in a tactile-first design stance, outlining design guidelines, key research gaps, and a prioritized agenda to advance perceptual and cognitive efficacy in tactile data visualization.

Abstract

Tactile graphics are widely used to present maps and statistical diagrams to blind and low vision (BLV) people, with accessibility guidelines recommending their use for graphics where spatial relationships are important. Their use is expected to grow with the advent of commodity refreshable tactile displays. However, in stark contrast to visual information graphics, we lack a clear understanding of the benefits that well-designed tactile information graphics offer over text descriptions for BLV people. To address this gap, we introduce a framework considering the three components of encoding, perception and cognition to examine the known benefits for visual information graphics and explore their applicability to tactile information graphics. This work establishes a preliminary theoretical foundation for the tactile-first design of information graphics and identifies future research avenues.

Paper Structure

This paper contains 18 sections, 3 figures.

Table of Contents

  1. Introduction
  2. Background
  3. Benefits of Visualization
  4. Accessible Data Visualization
  5. Tactile Graphics
  6. Our Framework
  7. Visual Perception and Cognition
  8. Haptic Perception and Cognition
  9. Approach
  10. Factors relating to Encoding
  11. Factors relating to Perception
  12. Factors relating to Cognition
  13. Synthesis
  14. Task Performance
  15. When are Tactile Graphics Likely to be Useful?
  16. ...and 3 more sections

Figures (3)

  • Figure 1: Tactile graphics are widely used to present information graphics to people who are blind or have low vision. Production methods include swell paper (left), 3D printing (middle), and refreshable tactile displays (right).
  • Figure 2: The waterfall technique (left) and the perimeter search (right) for systematic scanning of a tactile graphic to gain an overview of where features are located on the page.
  • Figure 3: A histogram redesigned in tactile form to better facilitate touch access and understanding.