Edis Adilovic
Dansk

Tactile 3D design

Accessibility for blind and visually impaired people does not stop at the screen. A map, a building, an object in a museum, an evacuation plan: I make it physical, so it can be explored by hand. Distinct shapes, different textures, high contrast, and no details that vanish in print. I test every model myself, because I am the user it is made for.

Who it is for: museums, public buildings, schools, tourist attractions, architects and organisations.

Deliverables: design, sample, testing and finished models in the quantity you need.

Languages: Danish and English, braille as needed.

Related case: LFBS, Fredericia, Denmark. 3D printing workshop for blind children and their parents, booked two years running.

Edis's hand reads the gable of a coloured 3D-printed model of Rosenborg Castle: red walls, sand-coloured window frames and green copper towers with golden spires.

What you get

  1. A model designed for your place and your users, with distinct shapes, different textures and high contrast.

  2. A sample you can try before we print the final piece.

  3. Testing by hand, by me and by your users.

  4. Printing and delivery, ready to use, in the quantity you need.

Methods and materials

  • Design in code
  • AI-assisted modelling
  • 3D printing
  • Braille
  • Tactile textures
  • High contrast
  • Tested by hand
Edis stands in his workshop talking while holding a coloured 3D-printed model of Rosenborg Castle with red walls, sand-coloured windows and green spires with golden vanes. Shelves of filament spools stand behind him and a large black 3D printer on the right.
In the workshop with one of my Rosenborg Castle models.

I test every model by hand before you get it.

I am the user the model is made for. What my fingers cannot read does not go to print.

What I design

  • Tactile evacuation plans for public buildings and workplaces.
  • City and area maps for attractions, stations and campuses.
  • Museum objects in miniature, so blind visitors can experience the exhibition.
  • Architectural models of buildings and monuments.
  • Signage in tactile form with braille.
  • Learning models for schools and universities.
  • Tactile city map of Tarup in Odense NV, seen at an angle on a wooden table: white raised buildings on a black base with contour lines, streets as grooves and braille labels by the larger buildings. The edge carries the text Tarup, Odense NV.
    Tactile city map of Tarup, Odense NV, with terrain, streets and braille.
  • 3D-printed model of Rosenborg Castle seen from the front on a sand-coloured base: four towers with green spires and golden vanes, red facades with raised sand-coloured window frames.
    Rosenborg Castle in miniature, printed in four colours, with braille and a QR code on the base.
  • A child's hands read a white 3D-printed floor plan of a house on a blue table: raised walls, door openings and small braille marks in every room.
    Tactile floor plan of a home with a lift-off roof, read by touch.
  • Edis stands smiling in his office with his hand resting on his black Prusa XL 3D printer. The printer enclosure has clear panels, and the print heads show behind the glass. Behind him a window, a colourful poster and a world map on the wall.
    My Prusa XL with five print heads, which can print several colours and materials in one model.

How it works

  1. Discovery call. What must the model show, who will use it, and where will it be?

  2. Design. I draw the model and send a sample when it makes sense.

  3. Testing. I test it by hand, and you test it with your users.

  4. Printing and delivery. I print the model and deliver it ready to use, in the quantity you need.

Edis stands on a stage at Microsoft, explaining with both hands. Behind him the screen shows the slide The 3D Printing Pipeline in 60 Seconds: from STL or 3MF file to slicer to G-code, with a block of G-code describing every move, temperature and amount of material.
From my talk at Microsoft: how a 3D file becomes a finished print.

Questions and answers

How do you know the model works for blind people?

I test it by hand myself, and you test it with your users, before the final print. Whatever cannot be read by touch gets redesigned.

Can the model include braille?

Yes. Signs, plans and models can carry braille text, and I proofread it by touch before you get it.

Can we order several copies?

Yes. You get the quantity you need, for example one plan per floor or per entrance.

Clients and cases

  • LFBS, Landsforeningen af Forældre til Blinde og Svagsynede

    Thomas Sonne Jensen, Fuglsangcentret, Fredericia, Denmark, 2025

    Task
    The weekend event Syn på sagen brings together blind and partially sighted children and young people and their families. I ran a 3D printing workshop where the children got tactile models in their hands and saw how a print is made, and where the parents got answers on what tactile aids can do in everyday life. The year before, I gave the Camino talk for the same association.

    It was a success in every sense. The kids were wild about 3D printing. Mads in particular has put a 3D printer on his wish list, and a couple of the parents asked for even more time and focus on the area.

    Thomas Sonne Jensen, chair, LFBS, translated from Danish.

See all cases

Do you have something that should be experienced by hand? Describe it and I will come back with how it can be made.

Book a free discovery call