Accessibility App
Quick Installation. Easy to use.
Vizling is an accessibility app designed to make multimodal media, like comics, maps, and art, accessible for blind and low vision readers in an equitable way using an intuitive user interface which combines haptics with scaffolded exploratory reading modes.

What is Vizling
A mobile app for users of all kinds to navigate multimodal texts like comics and textbooks in fully equitable, accessible ways.
Visual and Haptics

Intuitive user interface which combines haptics with scaffolded exploratory reading modes offers accessibility for blind and low vision readers to enjoy graphics based media.
Audio Playback

Audio versions of the script are recorded by voice actors for a dynamic and interactive listening experience.
The App You Need

Users can navigate content with ease for dialogue, scene description, overarching narrative, narration, objects, and more.
Simple Interaction Experience

The app utilizes haptics in addition to visual and auditory feedback to enhance touch gestures and interactions.
Supporting Digital Scholarship
To spur and facilitate digital scholarship in the humanities, the Vizling App will be FREE to download. Readers, researchers, and artists will be able to digitize, archive, and render accessible graphic narratives outside of the Vizling App database and original work following our published guidelines and using our administrative software.

Caption:
Two males standing side by side over a solid pink background holding a comic book and an open laptop. On the left is Darren, holding a comic book with a speech bubble that said the Vizling app is important to all readers. On the right is Aaron holding an open laptop with the screen facing viewers with a speech bubble that said its novel approach creates equitable access to existing knowledge with the promise to generate even more.
Vizling app is important for all readers
Its novel approach creates equitable access to existing knowledge with the promise to generate even more.
Meet Our Administrative Team
Founders of the Vizling App aim to make multimodal texts more accessible and researchable.
Craig Patchin
CEO of Vizling, Craig Patchin provides direction, targets, accountability, and structure for ongoing growth and business success. An entrepreneur with an English Education Bachelors and graduate theology work, Mr. Patchin has over 30 years of experience managing and growing various businesses, most recently Endao, LLC, and Austin, TX based software startup for window and door dealers throughout North America. Email Craig Patchin at cpatchin@vizling.org.
Darren DeFrain, Ph.D.
Dr. DeFrain, co-founder of Vizling, an award-winning educational accessibility expert and professor of English, oversees the day-to-day operations of the company and delegates tasks to the project team and contractors. An English professor, DeFrain has over 30 years of experience in educational theory and practice. DeFrain is responsible for social media, community outreach, and most elements of commercialization. Email Dr. DeFrain at darren.defrain@wichita.edu.
Aaron Rodriguez, MFA
Mr. Rodriguez, co-founder of Vizling, an award-winning educational accessibility and technologies expert with nearly 7 years of experience teaching at the college level, is in charge of the design and development of the Vizling App and the Vizling Accessible Design Software. Mr. Rodriguez leads Vizling efforts into education research and is tasked with coordinating, evaluating, implementing testing, updating, and improving the education technology products. Email Aaron Rodriguez at info@vizling.org.

Craig Patchin
CEO of Vizling, Craig Patchin provides direction, targets, accountability, and structure for ongoing growth and business success. An entrepreneur with an English Education Bachelors and graduate theology work, Mr. Patchin has over 30 years of experience managing and growing various businesses, most recently Endao, LLC, and Austin, TX based software startup for window and door dealers throughout North America. Email Craig Patchin at cpatchin@vizling.org.

Darren DeFrain, Ph.D.
Dr. DeFrain, co-founder of Vizling, an award-winning educational accessibility expert and professor of English, oversees the day-to-day operations of the company and delegates tasks to the project team and contractors. An English professor, DeFrain has over 30 years of experience in educational theory and practice. DeFrain is responsible for social media, community outreach, and most elements of commercialization. Email Dr. DeFrain at darren.defrain@wichita.edu.

Aaron Rodriguez, MFA
Mr. Rodriguez, co-founder of Vizling, an award-winning educational accessibility and technologies expert with nearly 7 years of experience teaching at the college level, is in charge of the design and development of the Vizling App and the Vizling Accessible Design Software. Mr. Rodriguez leads Vizling efforts into education research and is tasked with coordinating, evaluating, implementing testing, updating, and improving the education technology products. Email Aaron Rodriguez at info@vizling.org.
Vizling Fellows

Peech
Tansy “Peech” Breshears is an MA candidate with an undergraduate degree in English from Wichita State University. They prefer to be called Peech! Some of their interests are: expanding accessibility in social media and entertainment, social justice, elevating Black American voices in media, eradicating stigma surrounding disabilities and particular jobs and work, and encouraging women and people of color to enjoy motorcycle riding, too.

Lara Law
Lara Law is a MFA student at Wichita State University where she writes primarily magical realism, fantasy and science fiction stories. She is a teacher by day and a nerd by night with a passion for anything that gets her out of the dreary real world. Her favorite dinosaur is the majungasaurus and everyone should know it exists.
Meet Our Tech Team
T3 is an innovation-driven, technology center at WSU since 1998.
T3 is a diverse team of highly skilled professionals with expertise in design and development using cutting-edge technologies.
Through our expansive portfolio of work, experienced team’s skillset, and ability to take on new challenges, we were excited to team up with the innovative Vizling group to bring their vision to life.
Tech Team
An innovation-driven, technology center at Wichita State University since 1998
T3 is a diverse team of highly skilled professionals with expertise in design and development using cutting-edge technologies.
Through our expansive portfolio of work, experienced team’s skillset, and ability to take on new challenges, we were excited to team up with the innovative Vizling group to bring their vision to life.
Meet Our Grantors
The Vizling App is supported by generous grants from the National Endowment for the Humanities, the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, and the John A. See Award. You can find more information on each by visit the links below.
Interested in supporting the Vizling App? Contact us.
Spring 2023 Vizling Interns
Our Vizling Intern program is a for-credit opportunity through Wichita State University’s English Department that provides interns with hands-on experience working with editing and publishing accessible, digital comics content.

Randi McCowan
Randi holds a Bachelor’s degree in Anthropology, a Master’s in Arts Leadership & Management, and is a candidate for a MA in English Literature. She is interested in Queer Theory and Queer Ecology and is currently at work on positioning Emily Dickinson as an early explorer of Queer Ecology. Randi loves 80s and 90s post-punk, goth, dream pop, shoegaze, and industrial music, as well as Renaissance and Baroque composers, such as Marin Marais, John Dowland, Tobias Hume, and Elisabeth Jacquet de la Guerre. She is currently working on a YA novel about a transgender girl in the 80s, who finds herself through music and friendship. Randi is a true believer in the healing powers of cats and books.

Kalie Dudeck
Kalie Dudeck is a MA student at Wichita State University, where she studies war-related literature and mental illnesses portrayed in literature. During the day, she loves teaching her students the joys of English and writing. During her free time, she bakes some really delicious treats or plays video games with her friends. She is also a massive superhero fan, with her favorite superhero being the Winter Soldier (aka Sargent James Buchanan “Bucky” Barnes).

Alexander Hurla
Alexander Hurla is a Marine Corps veteran from Topeka, Kansas. He is a graduate of Kansas State University and is currently pursuing an MFA in creative writing at Wichita State University. His hobbies include woodworking, hiking, theology, and everything related to the prairie.

Journey Smith
Journey Smith is an MA student with an undergraduate degree in Secondary Education from Wichita State University. They enjoy reading, tea, and weird candies. Her free time is spent playing games and contemplating life.

Jaryd Porter
Jaryd T. Porter (He/Him) is an MFA student at Wichita State University and a lover of art, history, and literature. His interests range from prolific to eccentric: short fiction, novels, poetry, film, art, art history, graphic novels, culinary arts, martial arts, martial weapons, animals…most of his formal studies don’t extend beyond liberal arts and history. His favorite book is Slaughterhouse Five, favorite film is a tie between Shawshank Redemption and Everything Everywhere All at Once (Ip Man deserves an honorable mention), and favorite martial artists/actors are Bruce Lee, Iko Uwais, Hiroyuki Sanada, and Donnie Yen.

Ainsley Christopherson
Ainsley Christofferson is a marketing student at Wichita State University. She has experience in the publishing world as a graphic designer for Frog God Games. Some of her passions include product design, advertising, graphic design, drawing and writing. Ainsley has had a fondness for comics since she was a child. Her favorite comic to date is DC Bombshells.

Simon Nguyen
Simon Nguyen is a student at Wichita State University, getting a Bachelor’s in Criminal Justice with a minor in English. Video games are a sure way to his heart. He enjoys modern fantasy novels the most and aspires to publish some of his own someday. His most loyal companion is a pit bull that has been by his side for 10 years and is afraid of laundry baskets.
Meet the Board
2022 Vizling Board Members
Contact Us
We’d love to hear from you. Send us a message
Mailing Address
VIZLING LLC
62 South Mission Road,
Eastborough, KS, 67207
If you have any questions, please contact us at contact@vizling.org