The main aim of the master's thesis was to create a short, illustrated book that provides information on geological time to children and the general public in a simple and understandable way. In addition, we created an option to expand the book into a display poster and adapted the book's content for the blind and visually impaired by using tactile illustration and braille.
In the theoretical part of the thesis, we explored the history of illustration, defined different types of illustrations, and investigated tactile illustrations. We analysed the history of picture books, compared definitions of books and picture books, and reviewed the individual components of certain books: story, artistic elements, colours, and illustrations. The final part of the theoretical background included an overview of the different book-making steps.
In the experimental part, we first analysed the current state of picture books about the geological time scale and tactile picture books. We selected the sources for our book content. Based on our analysis of the books and selected literature, we prepared sketches and content, and selected elements to illustrate. We proceeded by creating the illustrations, preparing the book, and printing it. To make it more accessible to blind and visually impaired persons, we printed the text in braille and created tactile illustrations. As the last step, we assembled all the elements into a final picture book.
In the results and discussion, we evaluated the final product based on the criteria described in the theoretical part. The main point of discussion was finding a balance between the visual and tactile elements.
In conclusion, we confirmed the working hypotheses and achieved the main goal of the master's thesis.
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