Home Accessibility took center stage at the IV World Plastic Connection Summit®, an event held on Tuesday, April 8, at the Novotel Center Norte, in São Paulo, with the launch of the first edition of Color Trend®, which introduced the see color method, a tactile language for identifying colors that promises to revolutionize the design of plastic products in Brazil.
See color, created by professor and researcher Sandra Regina Marchi, was presented to the audience followed by a practical demonstration. Think Plastic Brazil, a portfolio of solutions for the plastic-converted products sector in the process of internationalization for target markets, carried out through a partnership between ApexBrasil (Brazilian Trade and Investment Promotion Agency) and INP (Brazilian Plastics Institute), organizer of the event, will hold new workshops for its associates, reinforcing the value and importance of using see color to promote inclusion and differentiate Brazilian products with this innovation, inside and outside Brazil.
Sandra shared with the audience how the research process went and what her goal was when she started building See Color. “I wanted it to be easy to learn, small, with a universal design, something that could be felt through touch, transforming an element of visual perception, color, into something tactile. I studied the color wheel, color theory, to apply the method intuitively. There are only eight positions, eight memorization codes, we make an analogy with a clock starting from the primary colors,” she explained.
By applying tactile symbols to the pieces, based on Color Theory, it uses high-relief symbols and the orientation of the clock hands to translate colors and their intensities. The method allows people with visual impairments, blind people, people with low vision or color blindness to identify colors through touch, bringing about an important transformation by involving everyone when consuming a product’s design.
The implementation of the method represents a milestone for the sector. According to data from IBGE, more than 6.5 million Brazilians live with some form of visual impairment, and will now have access to plastic products that consider their needs in the design process.
Summit participants were able to learn and test tactile reading of symbols and talk directly with the researcher responsible for see color. The action reinforced the event’s proposal to be a showcase of creative and inclusive solutions for the global converted plastics market.
With Color Trend 2026® integrating design, Brazilian identity, innovation and inclusion, the IV World Plastic Connection Summit® and Think Plastic Brazil reaffirm their leading role on the international stage not only as a business meeting, but as a space for social transformation through design.
About Think Plastic Brazil
Think Plastic Brazil started its activities with 38 companies and, over the last 20 years, has expanded its participation to more than 250 companies. During this period, the Portfolio promoted 4,773 participations of companies in the industry in 240 projects specifically for Trade Promotion, resulting in 64,366 meetings. The economic impact was significant, with more than US$1.247 billion in business generated and a total investment of US$12.338 million, achieving an impressive ROI of US$101.04 for every dollar invested.
For those interested in buying from Brazil and contacting Brazilian companies associated with Think Plastic Brazil directly, please contact cristina.sacramento@thinkplasticbrazil.com and daniela.ornelas@thinkplasticbrazil.com via email or visit the website (https://thinkplasticbrazil.com/en/home-en/). Think Plastic Brazil is a non-profit, non-commissioned organization that can facilitate your direct contact with Brazilian producers.
About INP
Founded in 1989, the Brazilian Plastic Institute – INP arises amid the process of globalization and the need to make the plastic market more competitive internationally. Its strength and representativeness are the results of the union of the Brazilian Processed Plastic and Recycling Industry (ABIPLAST), the Brazilian Association of the Chemical Industry (ABIQUIM), and the Union of Synthetic Resin Industries in the State of São Paulo (SIRESP).
As a sectoral technological body, the INP’s is to be the focal point for the entire plastics production chain in Brazil. To this end, the body maintains an extensive workforce qualification program, promotes access to the most modern technologies, especially for small and medium-sized companies, and develops Technical Standards so that products with better quality be manufactured.
About ApexBrasil
The Brazilian Trade and Investment Promotion Agency (ApexBrasil) promotes Brazilian products and services abroad and attracts foreign investments to strategic industries of the Brazilian economy. To reach its goals, ApexBrasil carries out diversified trade promotion actions aimed at promoting exports and valuing Brazilian products and services abroad, such as prospective and trade missions, business roundtables, support for the participation of Brazilian companies in major international fairs, and visits by foreign buyers and influencers to learn about the Brazilian productive structure, among other business platforms that are also focused on strengthening “Brazil” as a brand.
The agency also acts in a coordinated manner with public and private actors to attract foreign direct investment (FDI) to Brazil, focusing on strategic sectors for the development of the competitiveness of Brazilian companies and the country.
