Summary
The main goal of the diploma thesis was the design and creation of a guide to selected monuments in the Czech Republic for people with visual impairment. This goal was fulfilled by creating the Guide to selected monuments of the Czechia, which is freely available for download on the website of the thesis, both in a variant common to all monuments and for individual monuments. The target group of the guide is people with severe visual impairment and their guides (e.g. professional assistants, teachers, family members).
The theoretical part of the work deals with the current state of tactile cartography and visual impairment. Subsequently, the content, structure and graphic design of the guide were designed. The practical part describes in detail the whole process of creating the guide. Spatial data were obtained from the OpenStreetMap database via the QGIS plugin QuickOSM and prepared as map outputs. Graphical processing of maps and other graphic elements took place in Adobe Illustrator CS6, where the symbology was modified and the labels and map scales were added. The graphic elements prepared in this way were continuously uploaded to the Adobe InDesign environment, where features like headings or page numbering were added and pre-printing preparation was performed.
The guide presents monuments in terms of history and architecture with an emphasis on geospatial characteristics and context. The guide contains a total of 16 monuments and is divided into sections for normally seeing users (assistants for visually impaired users) and sections for visually impaired users. The sections for normally seeing users contain texts about history, architecture, etc., which are supplemented by pictures with descriptions. The section for visually impaired users presents individual monuments in three scales – the location of the monument within the Czech Republic, the surroundings and detail. So-called side views were also created for selected monuments. This part also uses Braille, which is always explained by the corresponding text in the classic font in orange. Each tactile map also has its own legend, where objects are explained. Each monument is supplemented by two text fields, where important geospatial contexts are described.
The guide has undergone user testing, namely in Prague, Opava, Litomyšl and Olomouc. Here, it was tested how visually impaired users work with the guide, whether they can orient themselves in tactile maps or whether the graphic design suits them. The testing resulted in several comments, which were subsequently incorporated.
The guide can be printed and created by any user. It only takes to download the relevant files from the website of the thesis and then print them out. Pages containing tactile graphics need to be printed on special microcapsule paper and then inserted into a fuser, where the black-printed parts are heated and a tactile graphic is created. The results of this work should help to expand the possibilities of spending free time for people with severe visual impairment.