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Artist Renderings of The Dot Experience

A large, black, dimensional “Welcome Everyone” statement is in full view on the back, white wall of the Lobby. In front of this wall, seating is also pictured. In the foreground, an oblong Braille Bug station with a dimensional, tactile Braille Bug on the tabletop is present. On the left side of the oblong station is a black pedestal with light wood trim and a white angled counter with a braille label. A floor change denotes this area.
The left-hand foreground of this image features a circular table with a high-contrast, tactile floor plan depicting the second-floor galleries. Directly above the table, a larger, circular disc form, edged in wood trim and filled with dark acoustic material, is affixed to the ceiling. To the right of the table is a large wooden wall, featuring a quote that reads, “My story is really not about overcoming blindness; it is about exploring life.” Also, on this wooden wall are four dots that feature APH brand colors. In the background of this image, to the left, is a portion of the Inventing a Tool exhibit.
Facing south, looking into the “Tactile Experience” area, an oblong Tactile Town display table defines the left side of the space and a large, wood-paneled wall for open storage display of braillewriters lines the right-hand side of the space. In the foreground is a standing globe & globe mold display. A four-sided built column stands in the center of the space to feature graphic and braille panels of APH personas with corresponding brand colors, tactile portraits, and dimensional letter descriptors (Access Warrior, Barrier Breaker, Dream Believer, Change Maker). Beyond it, three tactile panel collages overlay the bottom quarter of three columns, and acoustic paneling continues up from the panel collages to the ceiling. Three round pedestals with wooden bases each showcase a touchable braillewriter. Behind the braillewriters are white, rectangular panels with interpretive copy. Finally, a large, vertical, tactile abacus appears along the back left windowed wall of the space. A flooring change defines this whole area, and grounding messages reading “The Power of Touch” and “The Power of Braille” are visible within the space. Overhead is a series of light gray and brand-color cylindrical acoustic installations in varying heights.
This view is set from the vantage of Keller’s desk, with a few desktop items visible in the lower portion of the view. A wall on the left extends from Keller’s office vignette, featuring a high contrast black and white panel with interpretive content and black, dimensional letters that read “Global Ambassador.” This same wall features three high contrast artifact displays—boomerang, incense burner, and doll. In the center of the area, the narrow freestanding wall display reveals a Zulu shield within a case. To the right, a large wall-sized black and white photo of Keller holding a large book dominates the view. On the far wall of the section, a large, wooden circular wall element frames a white, tactile relief world map. To the left of the world map wall, dimensional letters read Global Barrier Breaker. On the floor, around the world map wall, a circular floor change marks the area.
To the left, the west wall features a large black title, “Everyday Living,” high up. Below this title is a horizontal panel with color people portrait panels and black interpretive text. This wall is also adorned with a dark grey countertop and light wood cabinets, stretching across its entirety, and includes interactive stations such as a digital media feature on Christine Ha and various accessible kitchen tools. In the northwest corner, floating light wood shelves display minimalist kitchen objects above a faux sink, with the floor beneath tiled in white square subway tiles. To the right in the foreground, two white walls—one extending left and the other towards the viewer—meet a light wood ceiling, creating a partially enclosed space in the center of “Living in an Inclusive World.” The north freestanding wall is marked by large black letters reading “At Home with Accessible Tech” and has three open shelves in the center displaying books and accessible technologies. The east freestanding wall showcases an artwork with a repeated circular motif. This partially enclosed area has a light wood floor with a curved edge opposite the enclosed corner. At the center, a circular table with a dark grey top and a brass cylindrical base features Code Jumper and an interpretive panel. Around the table are two yellow pouf seats, offering flexible seating options.
Facing north, the visitor faces a large white wall at the gallery edge, adorned with a dynamic collage. This collage is a vibrant mix of accessible educational tools, brand colors, shapes, portraits, drawings, textures, and even a section of grass. The components of the collage, predominantly square in shape with some circular elements, are artfully layered over one another. Positioned on the far right of the wall is a prominent APH pink dot, featuring the phrase Explore your World in white lettering. To the right of this pink dot, there is an accessible braille panel.
Facing east in the space, on the back of the Educators in Action wall is a white wall that is centered within the space. The black dimensional title, Everyday Learning, is prominently displayed on the upper left of the wall. Below this title, a digital screen shows an interview with a student, featuring both ASL interpretation and closed captioning. An angled white shelf with black trim juts out from the wall beneath the screen, equipped with three buttons for navigating the interface. To the right on this wall, there is a large photo of two female students in a classroom, showcased within circular panels. This main photo is partially overlapped by two smaller circular panels: one in lime-green and the other in dark pink, the latter featuring a white quote. Directly below this display, a table with two chairs is set up, mimicking a classroom setting. The table is arranged with open books and writing utensils spread out, inviting interaction.
Facing east in the space, on the back of the Educators in Action wall is a white wall that is centered within the space. The black dimensional title, Everyday Learning, is prominently displayed on the upper left of the wall. Below this title, a digital screen shows an interview with a student, featuring both ASL interpretation and closed captioning. An angled white shelf with black trim juts out from the wall beneath the screen, equipped with three buttons for navigating the interface. To the right on this wall, there is a large photo of two female students in a classroom, showcased within circular panels. This main photo is partially overlapped by two smaller circular panels: one in lime-green and the other in dark pink, the latter featuring a white quote. Directly below this display, a table with two chairs is set up, mimicking a classroom setting. The table is arranged with open books and writing utensils spread out, inviting interaction.
The view shows a large wall on the left, featuring an orange dot graphic that extends beyond the wall edges. Within this dot, a large white quote states, Inclusive classrooms empower teachers and students to power the future. To the right of this, a braille interpretive panel is positioned next to a large circular photo depicting a teacher and a student. The floor area in front of this wall is covered in wood. On the right, in the foreground, a white wall with a black frame encases a yellow structural column. Mounted high on this wall is a black dimensional title, Educators in Action, accompanied by black interpretive text and a corresponding braille panel. Further to the right, the rear of a maroon SUV protrudes from the wall, its trunk open and filled with white boxes that have colorful fronts.
Facing north, a freestanding, L-shaped wall in the center of the Change the World gallery houses the Optical Innovation section. It features large white letters on a black background that read, Optical Innovation. To the left is a sculptural letter wall. A pill-shaped structure spans the corner of the wall to cover the left and right sides of the display. On the left there are three products, a Jupiter, a MATT Connect, and a Juno sitting on a white counter. A shelf with a stack of books and petri dishes with bug graphics sits between them, and a circular panel reads, Take a closer look. On the right, against a black background, there is a CCTV, Mouse Magnifier, Analog Magnifier Interactive, Large Type printing plate, tactile map, and black and white photo of Robert Irwin.
Along the north wall of the Change the World gallery, the Making Braille section continues featuring white, black, and light wood panels. A large IBM Printing Card Keypunch machine sits on the floor to the right of this space. A freestanding circular panel stands to the right of the machine. Behind the machine is a long, black panel with interpretive material with the words IBM and APH on it. Above is large, black dimensional lettering that reads, Braille Goes Digital. Above the black pill-shaped panel is a black and white photograph of a group of people standing behind piles of large books. Below the photograph is a yellow infographic of books to digital braille comparison. To the left-hand side of this wall, there are additional artifacts/products on a long white counter trimmed in wood. A color image of an APH employee at work appears above the counter on the far left, and a perforated light-wood wall form completes the space. Flooring changes appear in yellow, black, and light gray in this area.
Starting at the left side of the image, there is a large black wall with the words Giving Voice to Information written in large white letters. Underneath these words are two yellow speakers mounted to the wall. To the right of these yellow speakers is a braille panel on a reader rail. The flooring in front of this wall is gray with some white trim. Connected to this wall are three more white and yellow panels moving horizontally from left to right. At the top of these white panels, we can see a yellow stripe shape with a rounded edge, and in this yellow stripe are the words, The People Behind the Voices written in black lettering. Moving from left to right, the white wall panels read, Narrators, Innovators, and Screen Readers. Each panel contains both color and black and white headshots of individuals and a braille panel. On the screen reader panel sits a pair of headphones, along with some wording, a QR code, three yellow dots, and the image outline of a smartphone. In the panel to the right of the screen reader panel are photographs of two individuals within circular dots alongside QR codes. Behind this wall, to the right, is the orange intro wall to The Accessible Classroom section with light wood flooring in front.
On a concave white and yellow wall a bold black title reads An Educators Innovation featuring three inset display cases housing four rare books from the APH collection. Along the curved wall, just below the inset artifact cases, three angled white counters trimmed in black span the length of the cases broken in the center by a cylindrical, spinnable, braille interactive. Each counter presents tactile representations of the rare books and corresponding braille panels. Interpretation is interspersed between the cases, with titles reading: An Educators Innovation, An Essay for the Education of the Blind, Codes to Replace Raised Letters, and Braille Code Emerges as the Standard. This display curves to the left into the Decoding Braille section where a life-cast statue of Louis Braille is visible.
To the right, a black, white, and yellow wall structure features raised black letters that read, Innovation and Breakthroughs. On the left, a large yellow circle framed in white features a dimensional black and white portrait of Stevie Wonder. Below the exhibit copy is a braille reader rail. To the right of the yellow circle is a large monitor featuring an image of Mike May and Larry Skutchan together against a purple background. Towards the center of the wall is a black circle with mounted, juxtaposed artifacts: a Monarch and a braille slate. On the right side of the structure, on a yellow backdrop, is a touchable type cabinet drawer.
Facing west at the Lobby entrance, on the left, visitors encounter an expanse of floor to ceiling glass storefront windows with an applied dot pattern in translucent white. Two sets of double glass entry doors are set within an alcove that is created by the glass façade wrapping around a corner. On the right wall of the alcove, a high-contrast Dot Experience logo appears on a black wall.
Facing the southeast corner of the gallery, Helen’s coffee-colored wooden desk and a seated life-cast figure of Keller are prominently featured in the center, front of the image. Drawing from reference photos, her desktop is full of objects such as small busts, wooden boxes, stacks of paper, and a braillewriter. Helen’s arms, outstretched, are posed actively. The floor under the desk consists of high-contrast tactile strips and perimeter edging, helping to define the edge of the desk from the surrounding gallery and floor transitions. The inset bookcases behind the desk feature a myriad of leather-bound books, additional paper materials, interpretive panels, and a selection of touchable and encased objects. On the left bookcase, two white and yellow interpretive panels provide story moments: one for Keller’s key to the city from San Antonio, featuring a touchable key, and a second panel, with the title, “Keller’s Legislative Influence.” To the right of the second bookcase segment (on the south wall of the gallery) is the faux office window.
The “Finding Her Voice” wall spans from north to south along the east wall of the gallery. Light-colored wood trims the top and bottom of the wall. On the left third of the wall, wood cladding covers the wall, terminating in a half-circle arc, as a swath of black covers the remaining faces of the wall, extending to the right edge of the wall. The left half of the wall features the two-station, “Explore the Keller Archives.” The second half of the wall—the southern facet—features dimensional white type that reads, “A Voice for Many,” three interpretive protest signs, and an image and tactile section. Below the \"A Voice for Many” letters is a dimensional yellow rule line, separating title from a large quote, also set in white dimensional letters that reads, “…until a great mass of the people shall be filled with a sense of responsibility for each other’s welfare, social justice cannot be attained…” Below this text, three interpretive panels are styled as protest signs, each with its own subject matter and interpretive material. The three white signs read, “Women’s Rights,” “Workers’ Rights,” and “Racial Equity” in bold, black type. The signs feature printed and braille interpretive material, and the panel focused on workers’ rights provides space for a touchable artifact reproduction. Continuing to the right, printed and braille interpretive panels are mounted next to a black and white photo of Keller in profile as a middle-aged woman. Concluding the wall, dimensional letters, and date state, “1920 Co-Founder of the ACLU,” above interpretive materials dedicated to that story. Along the floor, an APH teal floor change extends outward from the wall and demarcates the area.
Facing southeast, this view shows the water pump and curvilinear wall structure in the center of the Helen Keller gallery. The iron-colored, Victorian-era water pump is resting on a stone-colored, circular base approximately 2ft in diameter. The water pump features an ornate handle, a faceted base, and a spout that extends outward. At the mouth of the spout, a suspended blue material representing water hangs down. The circular floor area around the pump is styled in a blue to represent water. Beyond the pump, approximately half of the circular floor area is backed by a curvilinear wall. Directly beyond the pump, are inset semi-transparent, blue textured glass “windows” that cascade down the top of the wall in a water-like form. Surface applied strips of textured glass are dappled around the wall opening to infer sprinkles and drops of water. On the far-right side of the wall is a panel grid of brand-colored panels, braille panels, and black type on white that reads, “What’s Your Water Pump Moment?” To the left of the panel grid is a historic photo of Keller’s childhood home and the famous water pump that spans the wall top to bottom. A circle panel with a black and white portrait of Anne Sullivan and Helen Keller sits on top of the large historic photo of the water pump. To the left of the textured glass feature are casts of Keller’s hands signing each letter of the word “water.” Below each cast hand is the corresponding braille and type character, set on a yellow graphic band. A 6th neutral, hand cast is present to the right with an interpretive panel that prompts the visitor to explore fingerspelling. Above the hands, Keller’s quote about the “mystery of language” is presented in its long-form excerpt.
A large yellow circular panel sits on a central wall and features a black & white tactile portrait of Helen Keller in profile as a young adult. The panel reads, “Helen Keller: To Live. To Think. To Hope.” On the left of the view, a concave black wall includes black & white photographs, documents, and interpretation. To the right of the yellow circle, a wide opening in the central wall provides a view to Helen Keller’s desk.
Centrally situated in this image is the third media pod. It sits within a black quarter-circle flooring area. The media pod is trimmed in wood, and the inside features black acoustic panels. A cushioned bench can be partially seen inside the media pod. This angle shows only one entrance into the media pod—the left entrance. A guest would enter and turn right to exit this media pod from this angle. On the wall extending from the opposite entrance is the title, “Advocacy.” The left entrance to the media pod includes a multi-panel grid of interpretive, photographic, and tactile object displays focused on rights movements, pre-ADA. The exterior center of the pod features a tall, white, curved wall that features a black dimensional quote from Yokasta Urena that reads, “The biggest barriers I face as a woman in the intersection of race and disability is the fancy buzz words followed by inaction. It is fashionable to be ‘woke’ but inopportune, uncomfortable, and over-the-top to be active.” The bottom-right corner of this wall features a teal quarter-circle design. To the left of the media pod in the background is the “We Are Many Things” entry grid wall. To the right of this media pod is a wooden wall, with a continuation of the square grid pattern featuring interpretive panels, brand color panels, and black and white portraits. At the very right of this view is the corner of a black piano with a tall black & white portrait of Stevie Wonder on the wall behind it. The piano sits atop a teal semi-circle. All other flooring is grey.
Facing northeast, a straight, light grey path with yellow trim travels from left to right at a diagonal across the image. Towards the end of the path, there is a thin white zig-zag line. To the left of the path, the back of a service dog life cast figure sits to the left of a free-standing wall with a 4x5 grid of square panels covering the surface of the wall which is trimmed in black. The dog has a guide dog harness around its chest and back and a handle that extends up at a 45-degree angle from the harness. The free-standing wall has square panels that are wood, solid colors, and wood with white quarter-circles, interspersed between photo panels and interpretive graphic panels. From left to right, the wall features black dimensional type on white that reads “Orientation & Mobility.” Below is an inset case with Buddy the dog’s harness. To the right is a white panel with black type and a corresponding braille panel. To the right of that are two orange panels with white type. Above that is a black and white portrait panel of a man holding a white cane and a second, taller panel featuring a historic photograph of Morris Frank and Dorothy Harrison Eustis standing with Buddy the dog. A large case with a collection of white canes fills the right side of the wall, some of which are behind glass, while some are available to touch, and still others are available to pick up and use on the path in the space. Behind the free-standing wall, to the left of image, is the “We Are Many Things” entry wall of square wooden panels in a similar grid design. In the distance at right, APH brand color banners and globe lighting hang from the tall ceiling.
From inside the media pod, the central wall with monitor, speakers, and an interpretive ledge is the primary focal point. The black acoustic wall spans the height of the pod interior, trimmed by light wood; two speakers are mounted on either side of the horizontally mounted monitor; the white counter with wood trim holds the braille, graphic panel, and an activation keypad. The monitor on the black wall is horizontal with an image of two featured cast members (Denna Lambert and Chris Downey) in front of a purple screen backdrop. Below the counter is a square, teal stool. To the left of image, the “Welcome Everyone” space is visible. Through the right doorway is the “Navigation” media pod and gallery space.

Prototyping The Dot Experience

Up close of a person leaning forward to look closely at buttons on a panel.
Three individuals sit around a white folding table. They are touching a 3D-printed, plastic, three-tiered incense burner that is sitting on the table in front of them. The incense burner is grayish black in color. The base of the incense burner is shaped like a loaf of bread that resembles a pile of grayish black coins. On top of the base sits one chamber of the incense burner. This chamber is shaped like a rounded jar, complete with two ornate handles that resemble seahorses with manes on either side of the jar. Atop this section of the burner sits three rows of the coin-style texture featured at the bottom of the structure. Atop those coins sits a smaller yet identical rounded jar with the same handles. This pattern is repeated one more time above in a smaller iteration to create the third level of the burner. The structure is topped with a small round dome reminiscent of the speaking piece on a microphone. The entire burner is covered in numerous small indentations roughly 1 cm in diameter each. The woman on the left has strawberry blonde hair and a medium complexion. She is wearing an orange shirt and is touching the largest jar with two hands. In the bottom right-hand corner of the image, a white woman with brown hair is wearing a white blouse, glasses, turquoise earrings, a watch with a black leather band, and two cloth bracelets. She has one hand on the largest jar and one hand at the base of the incense burner. A white man sits in the top right corner of the image. His right hand is grasping the burner between the middle and top levels. He is wearing a dark blue button-up shirt, a gold wedding band, and a digital watch with a cloth band. He has a salt and pepper beard and light brown hair that has been parted and combed with gel. Three people in the background sit out of frame and longways down the white folding table. A man in a black shirt and newsboy hat stands in the background with his arms folded, observing the object interaction.
Two separate carpeted sound booths stand next to each other oriented at the left and right of the image. Three black walls partially surround four people per booth for a total of eight people. The fourth side of each booth is open and faces this view. There is dark grey carpet in each booth in the shape of a single rectangle which is lined with yellow duct tape on the long sides. Each booth has a wooden shelf on the right wall, as well as a wooden beam along the back wall which touches both the left and right walls of the booth. All people standing within the booths appear to be interacting with one another and the materials within the booth. In the left booth, there is an African American man with short hair in an electric wheelchair, which is mostly black with some red trim. He has on a light blue shirt which matches the light blue PPE mask he is wearing. To his right stands a white man with his back turned to the camera, he is wearing a light blue shirt and khaki pants. A brown-haired woman is barely visible in the background, obstructed by the other people in the booth. Next to these two stands a white man with short, buzzed hair, a Bluetooth headset around his neck, a blue polo shirt with a green logo, a red undershirt, light grey pants, and brown loafers. The four people standing within the booth appear to be talking to one another. A woman stands in the foreground with her back to the camera, observing the interaction in this booth. She is wearing a pink blouse with black pants and a chunky gold cuff bracelet. The booth to the right features a white man with brown hair and glasses. He is wearing a teal t-shirt with a yellow and neon blue logo, black cargo shorts, light blue socks, and grey tennis shoes. To his right sits a white man with black hair in a green polo shirt. He is holding a cane that is white, red, and brown. He is wearing a black watch, blue jeans, a security badge that is clipped to his waist, and grey loafers. Standing next to this man is a white woman with shoulder length brown hair, a navy-blue shirt, a black purse, a white watch, blue jeans, and open-toed sandals with a teal strap. She is holding a black dog which has a brown, leather harness and is lying down attentively on the carpet beside her. Finally, a man stands furthest right in the booth. He has black hair, is wearing a navy-blue button-up shirt, an olive-green undershirt, and grey jeans.
on individual seated in a motorized wheelchair is approaching a wall mounted frame that holds a white and black tactile map and a braille and tactile map legend which sits to the right of the map. Another individual stands next to the frame observing.
On the right side of the image two individuals navigate a floor pathway that is set up with varying tactile strips and systems that are being evaluated for efficacy. One person is a cane user. While walking and feeling the strips with her cane she appears to be providing verbal feedback to one of the designers who is standing off to the other side observing.
A woman sits at a kiosk with hands touching a refreshable braille device that sits in front of a monitor. To the right of the image a designer is reaching forward and offering guidance to the person operating the station.
Up close image of hands feeling tactile buttons on a flat surface that are designed to help with navigating on screen media.
Up close of person with headphones on.
Up close of person in wheelchair reaching forward to use navigational buttons on a flat panel that sits in front of a screen.
A person holding a cane while being interviewed by a news camera.
Two individuals sitting in front of a screen, both with headphones on. They are talking to one another.
A person in a wheelchair sitting in front of a kiosk with electronic braille device, button pad and large screen. A designer is sitting to the right of the kiosk and conversing with the tester.
A person wearing headphones looking down at the tactile button pad. In the right corner of the image is a designer observing and evaluating activity.
A person in a wheelchair reaches for an activation button that is mounted on a slanted shelf.
A person with a cane is standing close to a screen and smiling. Standing in the distance is a designer observing and evaluating, and also smiling.
A line of people standing at a table with swag for The Dot Experience.
Two people observing a display.