UW–Madison student Annabelle Zhang, who is pursuing a BS in the School of Education’s Art Department, recently won the Best in Show award at the 2024 Digital Salon for her project, “Block Scheduler for Visually Impaired Kids.”

In her artist’s statement, Zhang writes that “this project seeks to bridge the gap in daily scheduling tools for visually impaired kids, introducing a playful and tactile method with Lego-based elements to foster time management skills at home and offer accessible support.”

Zhang’s project submission includes user examples, an outline of how she created the blocks, user feedback on the project, and a reflection.

“I always found traditional paper schedulers with their rigid time slots a bit boring. I wanted to create something that wasn’t just a forced exercise in time management for kids,” Zhang says in her reflection.

“Looking ahead, I’m thinking of incorporating a braille system using 2×3 Lego blocks, which also have six dots that align perfectly with braille characters, to provide more complex information on the schedules,” she adds.

Zhang created the project in a new Art Department course titled Graphic Design for Accessibility, taught by Assistant Professor Taekyeom Lee.