Blackout Bard: Blackout Poetry6.1

Carve out new meanings from any text. Select and highlight words to create a fresh expression, or blackout words to reveal a hidden message. Blend with your own artwork. Surprise yourself with the poetry hiding in plain sight. It’s creativity, minus the pressure!

This form of creative writing is also known by various names such as "Blackout Poetry", "Found Poetry", "Erasure Poetry", "Caviardage Technique", "Redaction", etc.

Create with a tap: Easily select words to form new phrases

Blackout or dim: Hide the unused words with various options

Themed templates: Choose from a set of carefully curated templates to set the perfect mood for your writing

Use your own images: Import your own photos to serve as the backdrop for your creations

Use Curated Fonts which adapt: We've selected a range of fonts, including options for users with special needs, such as those with low vision, dyslexia etc ensuring the app is accessible to everyone. Text scales as per device settings.

Interact using Voice Over: For low vision users

Distribute Content & Settings via QR Codes: Automate preliminary setup tasks such as curating content, styling, export options etc. This reduces overwhelm and decision fatigue with certain individuals

Share with ease: Export your art to your image gallery or as a pdf; Share it on social media

Language-friendly: The app works with any language script that uses a space as a word separator.

This process is a powerful cognitive exercise that stimulates the brain and enhances your ability to "unlearn" conventional thinking. By working within the constraints of a pre-existing text, you are forced to explore possibilities outside your usual creative boundaries, often resulting in artwork that is remarkably different from what you would create on a blank canvas.

Pre-existing text lowers anxiety and decision fatigue, since the writer only has to select words, not invent them from scratch. Blackout Poetry gives room for self-expression without relying on social or verbal language. Hence, this technique is being used by therapists in their workshops with Hikikomori (persons who exhibit extreme withdrawal from society) & autistic individuals.

The app can be used by writers and non-writers alike. The experience is quite calming and meditative. Great insights arise, to reflect upon.

Tap away, flirt with words and create magic! Fill your lull moments with creativity!

Visit us at https://blackoutbard.wixsite.com/bbard

Version History Users can now save multiple drafts with unique titles from a single source text. 6.1 Aug 1 We believe our app should be for everyone! This update brings a set of new features and improvements focused on inclusivity and accessibility:
1. Fonts which scale: The app now fully supports Dynamic Type, so you can adjust the font size from your device's settings
2. VoiceOver Support: We've made significant improvements to our accessibility labels and navigation flow, making it easier for VoiceOver users to navigate and interact with the app.
3. Fullscreen Mode: Need to focus? You can now enter into fullscreen mode which hides the toolbars, giving you a clean, distraction-free space.
4. One Scan Setup via QR codes: This frees up time during classroom / therapy sessions so you can focus on the creative task at hand.
5. Dark Mode is here! We've listened to your feedback and are thrilled to introduce a new dark theme that reduces eye strain. 6.0 12/17/2025 Bug fix for Help Menu when accessibility is ON for large font sizes 5.2 06/06/2025 Fine tuning / Bug Fixes for previous release (5.0):
1. New: 'Tap to Blackout Mode ' - where users first blackout words, leaving behind the rest.
2. Accessibility Fixes : Preservation of the UI Integrity for large Text Sizes when Accessibility is ON
3. Scanning improvements ( iPhone / iPad): Added support for scanning multiple paragraphs at one go
4. MacOS Compatible (Designed for iPad): Note: All features except Photo Wallpapers, Scanning & Drawing are supported 5.1 05/26/2025 1] Added an alternate method to create Blackout Poetry, i.e, 'Tap to Blackout Mode ' - where users first blackout words, leaving behind the rest. ( Switch to this optional method based on preference.)
2] Revised Accessibility
3] Scanning improvements ( iPhone / iPad): Added support for scanning multiple paragraphs at one go
4] MacOS Compatible (Designed for iPad): Note: All features except Photo Wallpapers, Scanning & Drawing are supported. 5.0 05/12/2025 App reconfigured to execute in Light Mode always.
Minor fixes in User Interface based on user feedback 4.1 07/31/2024 1. Font Picker: Curated fonts for dyslexia & visual stress
2. Save customised style as 'Preferred Style' without having to repeat for every composition
3. UI redesign for better navigation: Organise / Bookmark / Search compositions
4. The generated expression can now be shared to any text based app, e.g: messaging, notes etc
5. In Beta: Import text into app by camera scanning ( subject to device & languages supported by the platform ) 4.0 06/02/2024 Chain selected words visually by a long press: Long press on a word (a blue icon appears over the word), then tap on a destination word. The two words / phrases will be chained visually.
(Note: Supported for Image Exports) 3.2 12/22/2021 New Features:
1. Added "Aspect Fill Text" Option during image exports. This default option is recommended for long passages (especially on iPhone) and scenarios where the user selected words are confined to a particular section of the original text. Toggling this option off includes the whole of passage during the export.
2. Improved fidelity during selection of words: for e.g short one letter words such as 'I'.
3. Users will be able to draw over the exported image and selected portions of the text shall not be masked.
4. Ability to select multiple drafts for deletion.
5. Revamped help and onboarding.
6. Bug Fixes
7. Removed unused features (e.g Image Blackouts) 3.1 07/19/2021 New Features:
1. Support for : Added options for filling text during image exports. 'Aspect Fill' option is default . This option is recommended for long passages (especially on iPhone) and scenarios where the user selected words are confined to a particular section of the original text. Toggling this option off includes the whole of passage during the export.
2. Improved fidelity during selection of words: for e.g short one word letters such as 'I'.
3. Users will be able to draw over the exported image and selected portions of the text shall not be masked.
4. Ability to select multiple drafts for deletion.
5. Revamped help and onboarding.
6. Bug Fixes 3.0 07/18/2021 PDF export feature supports export into a multipage A4 size TEXT pdf.
Better on-boarding while creating the first blackout.
Minor bug fixes 2.1 08/11/2017 1] Bug Fixes:
a] Export pdf crash when using patterns: Fixed and feature revamped.
b] Compose screen was not allowing iPhone users to hide keyboard nor edit. Tapping on screen will now hide keyboard and user can edit any portion of the compose field.
c] Fixed Share option where users can directly copy and use the share option to blackout bard from an external source (browser mails, books etc). If the external app / browser allows sharing, a draft can be created without pasting the text onto the compose screen. (Click on more on the Share option and enable the Blackout Bard to share).
d] For image blackouts, now supports save to photo when no filter is applied.
2] Revamped pdf support to split the image into multiple A4 size pages instead of 1 monolithic page.
3] New App preview 2.01 02/10/2017 1] Image Blackouts! Load an image from Photo Album, tap on portions you want to select and filter out the rest!
2] User improvements for text blackouts
3] Support for photos from album as wallpaper for text blackouts.
4] Text blackouts go thru an optional image filter stage where portions can be selected and highlighted, copied zoomed and filtered. 2.0 01/18/2017 Uploaded more Screen shots for iPad, uploaded loaded App Preview.

Cosmetic corrections in code. 1.01 06/17/2016 1.0 06/09/2016