News: White Cane Day 2021 - Drip My Cane 2.0 with Ablr
Feature image: test patterns varying in density and weight, designed to stress test the print limitations on retroreflective material - whilst retaining useable visibility of the cane itself.
On October 15th we not only launched the Eone Switch, but we also took some time out to celebrate White Cane Day. This annual event is an opportunity to celebrate the huge achievements and contributions of people who are blind or visually impaired, and to educate and raise awareness of what the white cane represents. Not only is it a symbol that helps others recognize a person’s vision impairment, but it’s also a crucial tool for safety and navigation. To a person who is visually impaired, a white cane can feel like a symbol of their independence.
To mark this special day, we teamed up with our friend John Samuel at Ablr. John and his team ran a competition in 2020 called Drip My Cane. It was a huge success and importantly, it got people talking. Starting conversations about accessibility and inclusion is something we at Eone embrace. Our timepieces are notorious conversation starters and that makes us happy! So, teaming up with Ablr seemed like the perfect partnership for White Cane Day 2021.
As you may know by now, inclusive design is our jam. So, we put our experience in Research and Development to good use, as we set out to make the winning design as usable as it was beautiful. It was super important to us that the finished product was completely functional as well as staying true to the super cool, winning design. So, we carefully selected the materials we would use, so the design wouldn’t impede the visibility of the cane. We worked with Steve McGrinder at Liberty Marking Systems and Bryan Vielhauer at Decal Impressions on the production of the final design. They kindly volunteered their services and expertly took the design and made it a reality.