Hatiye Garip’s whimsical comic embraces tactility and audio to create an accessible publication

The Land of Uncertainty is the illustrator and freelance designer Hatiye Garip’s first long-form comic – though it’s not just any comic. Using spot gloss ink and an audio bundle, the publication is one that makes comic reading accessible for disabled individuals, specifically, those with visual impairments.

The project first arose after Hatiye set herself on creating something in long form that could be both “innovative and enjoyable”. What’s more, as a disabled individual, Hatiye wanted to make a creative experience that was truly accessible. To keep the text to a minimum and “not get lost in the details”, Hatiye took a poem she had previously written to form the basis of the comic’s story: a meditation on chance, unpredictability and the escapism of nature.

In terms of imagery, Hatiye went for a fragmented approach – recognisable images of birds and trees, combined with abstract shapes and forms – to take the reader on an unexpected journey. “Today, I think I could have drawn completely different things for the same text. Maybe even the text would have been completely different,” says Hatiye. “I think I like this nuance of personal projects the most, they carry the traces of the narrative from that period to today.” Once Hatiye had a good idea of the form of the comic, she sent a pitch to Good Comics, including the first few completed pages, and they took the project on. It is also funded in part by an award from San Francisco State University’s Accessible Comics Collective.

To make the book accessible, Hatiye used a process which prints transparent ink to create a raised spot gloss, which gives various graphic elements of the book tactility, much like braille. Throughout the comic, all of the black outlines are raised, and each of the three colours has a different texture. “There is a legend at the opening page of the book introducing the textures for each colour, similar to maps,” Hatiye says. “Grid dots for orange, ripples for yellow, and diagonal lines for lilac.” To access the audio bundle there is a QR code on the back of the comic, as well as an NFC tag, both of which provide a link. The bundle includes audio descriptions, poem reading and transcripts.

On the whole, for Hatiye, creating The Land of Uncertainty was an education. One: that it’s not possible to do everything alone (teamwork really does make the dream work); two: learning to accept imperfection; and three, perhaps the most important: learning how to make something truly accessible. Response to the comic has been overwhelming, and in July of this year it was chosen as the Quentin Blake Centre of Illustration’s Book of the Month.

While the comic is primarily directed at blind and low-vision individuals, it’s by no means restricted to them alone. As The Land of Uncertainty is a fairly standalone production, with accessible publications not a common feature of the publishing landscape, Hatiye hopes it might give other creatives the “courage and inspiration” to work on the accessibility of their own projects.