Lori Shimizu and Jefferson Dela Cruz, graphic communication seniors at Cal Poly in San Luis Obispo, show the results of their senior project, a book for blind children featuring Braille, a CD-ROM version and removable objects for children to feel.
Two graphic communication students at California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo used the skills they had acquired to produce a senior project that also fills a need for blind children.
The Boy Who Shared His Toys, written, designed and produced by Cal Poly seniors Jefferson Dela Cruz and Lori Shimizu, features Braille as well as traditional text. The cloth-bound book includes three-dimensional, removable figures that a child can touch and feel as well as a CD-ROM so that the book can be read electronically to a child.
"Having worked in my mom's classroom, I noticed children with disabilities do not have the opportunities that other children do," explains Shimizu.
Dela Cruz notes that the research the two students did for the project confirmed that there are few children's books designed in Braille.
In expressing the pride that he and other faculty in the department have for the students, Cal Poly Graphic Communication Department Head Harvey Levenson says, "Jefferson and Lori are examples of two students who used what they learned in a technical discipline to help others. They epitomize the type of students we graduate who are well prepared to enter industry and commerce but also have developed a sense of compassion for humanity and the desire to give something back to society."
As part of the Cal Poly tradition of student community service, students in the graphic communication program design and help coordinate the production of the San Luis Obispo Special Olympics yearbook. They have also assisted the Alzheimer's Association prepare printed material for events and worked with elementary school students to teach them about reading, writing, computer graphics and publishing.
Dela Cruz and Shimizu hope to have The Boy Who Shared His Toys published. And Dela Cruz, who already knew he liked working with children and wanted to do the book as a way to help the blind community, now has another goal. "After finishing my senior project," he says, "I would like to pursue a career in book publishing."
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