The braille system is probably one of the most representative examples of the saying “if it isn’t broken, don’t fix it”. It has been with us for almost 200 years, and beyond the difficulties of adapting it to other languages, the truth is it works quite well. However, two problems weigh on the system: it is hard for sighted people to learn, and it lacks general presence. Designer Kosuke Takahashi believes he can solve both at once with his new typeface, Braille Neue, which makes braille compatible with the Latin alphabet.
The letter “o” in braille is represented by three dots. In the traditional Latin alphabet it is just a simple circle. What is the relationship between the two forms? The first word that comes to mind is “none,” and that creates difficulties for those with intact sight who nonetheless want to learn the system. Instinct does not help us much either, because the letter “i” is two dots in different positions, and the shape of the uppercase “L” belongs to “v” in braille. Despite the enormous challenge, building a bridge between braille and the traditional alphabet is not impossible, and it all begins by making room for designer Kosuke Takahashi’s new typeface, Braille Neue.
As the images show, the characters of Braille Neue are drawn over each expression of braille writing, so that it “forms letters” by joining the dots, and most importantly: it can be read with the eyes and with the hands at the same time. Takahashi’s first barrier was recognizing that the basic structure of braille is inflexible (any modification would destroy its legibility), so his efforts focused on adapting the letters to the dots. Some expressions simply should not be altered (for example, the numeric prefix and the reference for indicating capitals), and his version of the Latin alphabet is for now a proof of concept, but it is on an excellent path.
Takahashi hopes Braille Neue will be ready for use before the 2020 Tokyo Olympics begin. On the other hand, the designer admits the project is not the first of its kind: The Blind Words initiative by Nuria López does exactly the same thing as Braille Neue, and I would dare say the quality of its basic typeface is superior, but Braille Neue adapts better to the requirements of Japanese. We hope Braille Neue keeps advancing, and of course, that in the future there will be TTF/OTF files to download (after all, its digital version is no less valuable).
