Designing Accessible Information Graphics for Visually Impaired Students in Nigerian Universities

Visually impaired students in Nigerian universities face significant barriers to accessing printed and digitally projected educational content, with most academic materials designed without consideration for tactile or auditory supplementation. This project investigates the design of accessible information graphics that enable visually impaired students to engage meaningfully with diagrammatic content in science and social science subjects. A needs assessment conducted at the University of Lagos and Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, involving thirty-two visually impaired students and fourteen disability support officers, identified key content types for which accessible alternatives are most urgently required, including maps, graphs, anatomical diagrams, and flowcharts. The design response produces a set of twelve tactile graphic prototypes using raised-line printing on swell paper and thermoform overlays, supplemented by braille annotations and QR codes linking to audio descriptions. Expert evaluations by orientation and mobility specialists assessed tactile legibility, braille accuracy, and audio content quality. Field testing with visually impaired students measured comprehension improvement compared to standard printed formats. Results show a forty-six percent improvement in comprehension accuracy for tactile graphic users over standard verbal description alone. The project recommends that Nigerian universities adopt universal design for learning standards and that the National Commission for Persons with Disabilities develop funding mechanisms to support tactile graphic production centres. Keywords: accessible design, visual impairment, tactile graphics, inclusive education, Nigerian universities.