Custom Design Work

Our Design Work

Design work is priced, based on complexity and turn around time of what is being requested. Quotes are generated up front, after a request has been made.
Free Tier Design
$0
Added to our public request queue
Turnaround 2 weeks to 6 months based on availability
Number of interations based on volunteer availability
Limited to individuals and teachers
Great for minor adjustments to models, autogenerated tactile maps, clear user needs, and people with flexible timelines
Paid Tier Design
Priced on Request
Contracted 3D modelers and tactile designers
Turnaround 2 to 10 weeks based on number of interations
Ideal for museums, organizations, and people with rigid timelines
Proofread braille by a certified transcriber
Great for models that require iteration and judgement such as maps, art, and individual user needs

Interested in Requesting a Custom Design?

Make a Request

Design Request FAQ

Key Tips

  • What are you hoping to learn by touching the model?
  • What limitations have you encountered with existing models, tactile graphics, or verbal descriptions you have tried for this concept?
  • What misconceptions are you trying to prevent using the model? What misconceptions could you inadvertently introduce using the model?

What should I consider in a 3D map request?

  • What is the purpose of the map? For learning about an area? For travel? For decision-making?
  • Try out your ideas using any tools you have (verbal descriptions, raised line drawings, Wikki Stix, APH Picture Maker Wheatley Tactile Diagramming Kit, etc.). That will let you know what information is still missing or could be conveyed in a better way through a 3D print. Since it takes time to design, print, send to you, provide feedback, and repeat, any design iteration you can do up front will save time.
  • Try a 3D printed or embossed Touch Mapper map or an embossed TMAP (Tactile Map Automated Production). See3D can customize your Touch Mapper 3D map with features or labels.
  • How zoomed in should the map be? What roads, buildings, and paths need to be included?
  • Which way should the user be facing? North?
  • Do you want roads as lower valleys (recommended conceptually), or raised lines? Do you want sidewalks?
  • Do you want buildings? As full-scale 3D buildings, or raised rectangles, or as outlines?
  • Do you want true-to-life cartography or modified features to improve tactile clarity or decrease clutter?
  • Do you want a flat map with features or land topography? Or both?
  • Consider size. Is this map for previewing before traveling, or to carry while traveling?
  • Do you need braille labels or a key? Do you want the key on the map or separately? Or just a written description?
  • What features of the model need to be permanent, and what features do you want to be able to change? You can add bump dots, sticky braille labels, and Wikki Stix on the model if you want to be able to quickly change a “you are here” marker, a label, or a path.
  • Read Tactile Mapping: Cartography for People with Visual Impairments by Dr. Vincent van Altena, Dr. Jakub Wabiński, for more ideas.

Can you add braille to models?

Yes! See3D began with a love for braille! All Unified English Braille is proofread by a certified braille transcriber. We can do braille in math and in different languages with our collaborators at Clovernook Center for the Blind & Visually Impaired. When requesting braille, please note:

  • Braille prints best vertically instead of flat. We will try to optimize the design to have the braille print vertically. If you want the braille to be a different color than the background, then it will have to print flat.
  • Do you need uncontracted or contracted braille?
  • Which math code do you need?
  • Sometimes there is not enough space to fit the entire phrase in braille. We will discuss with you what you would prefer in these situations.

What should I consider in a 3D logo request?

3D logos are a great way to make your branding accessible!

  • Do you want an exact tactile representation of the print logo, or do you want a tactile interpretation of the logo optimized for touch?
  • Do you want braille? Uncontracted or contracted? Do you want braille typeform indicators if your logo has a stylized font?
  • What features of the logo do you want raised/emphasized?
  • What do you want to do with the logo? Do you want one large copy or smaller giveaway items?
  • Do you want a single color or multicolor? We can print up to four colors. Multicolor prints do take much longer. Another option is for us to print in a single color, and you paint the model.

Other considerations

  • Do you want the model to be able to move realistically (such as a butterfly flapping its wings), or do you want to preserve the realistic features of the model and avoid adding features (like hinges) that allow it to move?
  • The more photos, videos, measurements, and descriptions you can provide, the easier it is for us to design something that is most useful!
  • During the design iteration process, the faster you can provide feedback to the designer, the faster we can get the model to you.
  • What features of the model need to be permanent, and what features do you want to be able to change? You can add bump dots, sticky braille labels, and Wikki Stix on the model if you want to be able to quickly change something

What is unique about See3D’s 3D design services?

  • See3D specializes in tactile design for blind and low vision (BLV) people. We have been creating models since 2017. We are familiar with needs specific to the BLV community, such as orientation & mobility, braille, and tactile educational models.
  • We have experience in adding braille to designs so it is accurate and prints well.
  • We have an extensive global network of 3D model and tactile designers to seek expertise.
  • We share effective tactile 3D design strategies to train more people on this skill.