Glossary

Searchable terminology from accessibility, web standards, and related fields.

27 results found in tactile graphics.

Tactile Semiotics
The study and theory of how meaning is communicated through touch, drawing on broader semiotic principles that every media channel has rules or encodings for conveying meaning. Tactile semiotics exami…
Tactile Texture (Haptic Texture)
The surface quality of a material or graphic element as perceived through touch, characterized by properties such as roughness, smoothness, density, height, pattern regularity, and directionality. In …
Tactile graphic production (Tactile image creation, Accessible graphic transcription)
The process of converting visual images — such as textbook diagrams, charts, maps, and illustrations — into raised tactile representations that can be explored by touch. Production methods include swe…
Tactile relief (2.5D relief, Tactile relief model)
A physical representation that preserves depth information and surface textures from a two-dimensional image, creating a raised surface that can be explored by touch. Unlike flat raised-line drawings …
Tangram Workstation (Tangram)
A LibreOffice extension for creating tactile graphics collaboratively. Tangram enables sighted users to design graphics while providing real-time tactile feedback to blind reviewers through a connecte…
Texture Differentiation (Tactile Discrimination)
The ability to perceive and distinguish between different textures through touch. In the context of tactile graphics, texture differentiation is the fundamental perceptual capacity that allows readers…
Thermoforming (Vacuum Forming, Thermoform)
A manufacturing process used to create tactile graphics by heating a plastic sheet and pressing it over a mould to form a raised surface. In accessibility contexts, thermoforming is one of several met…