It can be easy to dive straight in and start making a tactile graphic. However, the selection process through which images should be made into tactile graphics requires some thought. It is worth doing a quick evaluation to determine if a tactile graphic should be produced or not. Will the information to be communicated be more easily understood by the user as a tactile graphic or not?
Points to consider:
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It might be possible to simply describe the image.
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Is there a model available for touching e.g. of body organs or chemistry molecule?
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Is the real object available for touching e.g. a violin in a music lesson?
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Is the image actually necessary? Is it purely decorative and not conveying any actual information?
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The mainstream image may be too complex and detailed to be transcribed into a tactile image, or at least one that works.
Once you have decided which image is going to be produced as a tactile, the following decision-making process will further help determine if the selected image should be produced as a tactile graphic:
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Identify which of the images are absolutely essential. By looking at the objectives of the original image, i.e. what message is it trying to convey, its importance may become clearer.
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Perhaps a single generic tactile graphic could be used instead of a series of similar graphics. The differences on the original images could be discussed verbally.
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Identify the critical and irrelevant details on each graphic. The simpler each graphic is the easier and quicker it will be to read.
When are tactile graphics useful?
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Where the user is blind or partially sighted and has some tactual ability.
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Where the concept is not easily described in words.
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Where the real object is unavailable for touching.
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When the shape / form / pattern is important.
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To illustrate scale and relationships, for example biology, maps, technology.
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To give variety and enhance the educational experience.
What are tactile graphics not?
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They are not intended to be exact replicas of the original graphical information.
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They are not good for fine detail.
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They are not good when made extremely large.
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They are not good to use without training.
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They are not good to be used without support.