Client Story

Janie Desir

JANIE DESIR, Author, Educator, Accessibility Advocate

@teaching_your_baby_braille | www.tybibraille.com

Turning Vision Loss into a New Language for Learning

An innovative author finds MCRL for her complex project

Janie Desir began experiencing symptoms of keratoconus at age 25, while studying graphic design in college. Within months, the career she had been building, and the visual world she relied on, changed completely.

Determined to adapt, Janie enrolled in a blind school, where she spent three months learning braille and developing new ways to navigate everyday life. The concept for her children’s book came years later, during her pregnancy.

“I started asking myself, what if my child experiences vision loss too? How can I prepare him? “, says Janie. That question became the foundation for her first book: Teaching Your Baby Braille.

From Prototype to Possibility

Janie’s vision for the book was clear from the beginning: create an engaging, tactile learning experience that introduces braille as naturally as parents introduce sign language or spoken words.

Her first prototype was printed by a local printer on flat pages with puff print to simulate braille. While it validated her idea, it wasn’t the final product she envisioned; a braille board book designed for durability, accessibility, and early learning.

Janie had difficulty finding a printer who could print a board book in braille book format. It didn’t seem to exist. Until she found MCRL. We were the only printer she’d found capable of producing this complex, tactile board book, affordably to sell. We had produced one braille board book prior to Janie’s book and were excited to bring her vision to life.

Collaboration Made It Possible

To transform this highly sensory experience into production-ready files, MCRL connected Janie with children’s book producer, Melinda Martin, of Martin Publishing Studio. Melinda is an experienced publishing professional who helps many of our clients publish bookstore-quality books.

Janie and Melinda clicked immediately.

Melinda worked closely with Janie to ensure every detail was ready for print; from page placement to tactile readability, to artwork licensing. Melinda did a great job preserving Janie’s vibe and creative feel and prepared perfect press-ready files to us for print.

The Final Product?

A highly complex and innovative braille board book that is beautiful!

Size: 8″ x 8″ rounded corners

Page count: 8

Interior pages:

350gsm gloss
Braille Emboss
4/4 cmyk

Cover:

60pt gloss
4/4 cmyk
Braille Emboss

More Than a Book

Teaching Your Baby Braille is an educational tool and the first in a planned series. The second and third titles are focused on shapes and the alphabet, building a full early-learning system rooted in accessibility.

Since Teaching Your Baby Braille launched in January 2026, Janie’s book has gained national media coverage, recognition across homeschooling communities in multiple states and was featured on the TV show, Truly: My Extraordinary Family.

Today in addition to online sales, Janie uses her book as part of a broader speaking series, encouraging students to rethink limitations and embrace resilience. Her message is simple but hard-earned:

Don’t give up. The journey can be long, and it isn’t easy, but challenges can be overcome.

Teaching Your Baby Braille board book

A New Way to See Learning

Braille, like sign language, is a skill anyone can learn, and one parents can share with their children from an early age.

Through innovation, determination, and the right production partners, Janie transformed a personal challenge into a tool that empowers families everywhere.

Learn more at: www.tybibraille.com