The Campaign

For visually impaired parents, there is a problem in that they are unable to read aloud picture books to their children. Even if a parent couldn’t “read” a picture book, what if there was a picture book where the story goes exactly the way the parent told the story? The disability would be overcome, and the communication between a parent and their child would become even richer and stronger.

Creative Execution

We created an experiential device, in which pictures are drawn onto a blank white book, as parents tell their stories to their children, creating an original picture book in real time. We had visually impaired parents and their children experience the installation. The original stories that the parents told came to life through real time pictures, and stories changed directions through the children’s imagination. We were able to create a new experience of parent to child picture book reading combining simple devices and technologies. We adopted a system in which a number of illustrators drew pictures according to the parents’ story in real time, composite the individual pictures, and project it onto a blank book. We are planning to extend this system using voice recognition and AI, for generating images automatically. The story became an actual picture book and was delivered to each parent and child to enjoy.

Through this project, a new possibility for parents who otherwise could not read aloud picture books to their children was born. We were able to deliver a tremendous amount of joy to not only children, but to the visually impaired parents. Not only is this device fit for the visually impaired, but it is a device that can be enjoyed by parents and children with a bountiful amount of creativity. Through this experience that directly engaged parents and children, as well as educators, we were able to communicate Froebel-kan’s core values as a brand that supports children’s healthy upbringing.

This work is relevant for Innovation Spikes because, through this project, we were able to create a new way of education for the disabled, invented a new meaning of future publishing, and succeeded in creating a strong relationship between parents and educators, and publishing company.