Braille Institute of America

The Braille Institute of America (BIA) is a nonprofit organization with headquarters in Los Angeles providing programs, seminars and one-on-one instruction for the visually impaired community in Southern California.

The organization has seven regional centers: Anaheim, Coachella Valley, Laguna Hills, Los Angeles, Riverside, San Diego and Santa Barbara, as well as outreach programs at more than 200 locations throughout Southern California.

BIA serves children, youth and adults, with the goal of helping its clients adapt to life with low vision and achieving fulfilling, independent lives.

[1] Impressed by his efforts, philanthropists Mary and John Longyear donated $25,000 to help Atkinson found the Universal Braille Press in 1919 in Los Angeles.

[3] In 2019, in collaboration with Applied Design Works, the Braille Institute released Atkinson Hyperlegible,[4] a free typeface built around a grotesque sans-serif core.

Braille Institute, Vermont Avenue, Los Angeles
On the top line, the characters "B8 1Iil". On the bottom line, the same characters, very blurred but still readable to most people.
Above : How Atkinson Hyperlegible appears normally. Below : A blur effect simulates how the same letters might appear to someone with a low-vision condition.