ADA Signs
Encyclopedia
The term "ADA Signs" has come into common use in the architectural
, construction
and signage
industries with the advent of the Americans With Disabilities Act, or ADA. Unfortunately, it's a misunderstood term. Most people think it's synonymous with braille signs. Certainly, signs with braille and raised characters are the most visible manifestation of the law requiring access to the built environment, but the sign standards in the ADA Accessibility Guidelines, or ADAAG, require much more than just braille and raised characters on some signs.
In general, almost every sign that would be considered an "architectural" sign must comply with one or another of the ADA Guidelines. In other words, if a sign identifies a permanent room
or space of a facility, including exits, directs or informs about functional spaces of the facility, or identifies, directs to, or informs about accessible features of the facility, it must comply. Signs for advertising
and marketing
purposes, temporary signs, company logos and names are examples of signs or sections of signs that do not have to comply.
Although, because of the rules requiring Braille
on some signs, the signage section is looked upon as benefitting persons who are blind and visually impaired, some of the sign guidelines benefit persons with mobility impairments or hearing impairments. In addition, one can say generally that easy to read and well thought out signage systems
are of definite benefit to people who are deaf, have problems speaking, have cognitive disabilities or psychiatric conditions that cause them to avoid speaking to strangers.
The general rules for signage covered by the law are these: (the exact wording may be consulted on the website of the United States Access Board at http://www.access-board.gov/)
All signs must have non-glare
backgrounds and characters. (Exception is for reflective parking and other traffic sign
s.) Glare and reflection are a major problem for persons with vision impairments, and particularly for the elderly.
All signs must have a high dark to light (or vice versa) contrast
between characters and their background. The important issue is not color, but lightness and darkness. Thus, a sign with very light gray letters on a charcoal gray background would be fine, but a sign with red letters on a black background would not.
All signs must have "easy to read" typeface
s. The rules are different for signs that identify rooms and spaces, and signs that direct and inform. That's because persons who are "functionally blind," that is, have no usable vision
, are able to locate doors, and therefore can locate signs adjacent to doors that identify them, but have no consistent way to find directional and information signs that could be located anywhere along corridors.
Directional and informational signs can use upper and lower case letters (recommended by many experts for visual readability) and "simple" serif
typefaces of a non-decorative nature. No condensed or extended typeface
s are allowed. Strokes are of medium weight, not too bold or too thin. The size of the letters is dictated by the distance of the sign from the expected position of the sign reader. Signs high upon walls or overhead must have 3 inch high characters (measured by the uppercase character).
Signs that identify rooms and spaces are to be located adjacent to the door they identify so they can be located by persons who are functionally blind. For the most part, one sign is used by both tactile and visual readers, so there are compromises to assist tactile readers. However, it is possible to use two separate signs with the same information. Tactile signs require uppercase characters in sans serif typefaces. (No, Helvetica
is not required, other sans-serif typefaces can be used.) The characters can be from 5/8 inch to 2 inches high. The braille must accompany the characters (usually placed below the characters) and must be Contracted Braille (formerly called Grade 2 Braille). The signs are installed 60 inches on center from the finish floor. If pictograms are used to identify the space (example: restrooms with gender pictograms), they must be in a six inch high clear field and accompanied by a tactile character and Braille label below the field.
There are four pictograms that stand for accessibility. One is the familiar International Symbol of Access
, or "wheelchair symbol." It's used generally to show that persons with mobility impairments can access entrances, restrooms, or pathways. Three are specifically for persons with hearing impairments. The "ear" pictogram is the International Symbol of Access for Hearing Loss, and is used to show the availability of an assistive listening system. The "keyboard" pictogram stands for a TTY
or text telephone. The "phone" pictogram with sound waves stands for the availability of a volume controlled phone.
The actual standards for the signs (and most other standards used in ADA regulations and state building codes), are actually the product of the ANSI (American National Standards Institute) A117.1 Committee. This large committee is made up of a balanced group of representatives from industry, the government, disability organizations, designers, code officials, and experts. it meets in 5 year cycles to revise the last published standard. The standard is then used by the International Code Council for its model building code
, and has formed the basis of the new version of the ADA Guidelines, now called the 2004 ADA/ABA and available on the website of the Access Board at http://www.access-board.gov/ They are already adopted by several federal agencies, and had been approved by the Department of Justice and were awaiting final review by the OMB when the Obama Administration came in. Ironically, although they are actually a product of the Clinton administration and have taken 8 years to make it through the Bush Administration, the Obama Administration now considers them Bush Administration regulations, and is holding them up. Therefore, they are back at the Department of Justice for a review by the new administration.
http://www.terrareproductions.com/PDFs/Instalation%20Instructions.pdf
Architecture
Architecture is both the process and product of planning, designing and construction. Architectural works, in the material form of buildings, are often perceived as cultural and political symbols and as works of art...
, construction
Construction
In the fields of architecture and civil engineering, construction is a process that consists of the building or assembling of infrastructure. Far from being a single activity, large scale construction is a feat of human multitasking...
and signage
Signage
Signage is any kind of visual graphics created to display information to a particular audience. This is typically manifested in the form of wayfinding information in places such as streets or inside/outside of buildings.-History:...
industries with the advent of the Americans With Disabilities Act, or ADA. Unfortunately, it's a misunderstood term. Most people think it's synonymous with braille signs. Certainly, signs with braille and raised characters are the most visible manifestation of the law requiring access to the built environment, but the sign standards in the ADA Accessibility Guidelines, or ADAAG, require much more than just braille and raised characters on some signs.
In general, almost every sign that would be considered an "architectural" sign must comply with one or another of the ADA Guidelines. In other words, if a sign identifies a permanent room
Room
A room is any distinguishable space within a structure.Room may also refer to:* Room , by Emma Donoghue* Room, Nepal* Room for PlayStation Portable, a social networking service* Thomas Gerald Room , Australian mathematician...
or space of a facility, including exits, directs or informs about functional spaces of the facility, or identifies, directs to, or informs about accessible features of the facility, it must comply. Signs for advertising
Advertising
Advertising is a form of communication used to persuade an audience to take some action with respect to products, ideas, or services. Most commonly, the desired result is to drive consumer behavior with respect to a commercial offering, although political and ideological advertising is also common...
and marketing
Marketing
Marketing is the process used to determine what products or services may be of interest to customers, and the strategy to use in sales, communications and business development. It generates the strategy that underlies sales techniques, business communication, and business developments...
purposes, temporary signs, company logos and names are examples of signs or sections of signs that do not have to comply.
Although, because of the rules requiring Braille
Braille
The Braille system is a method that is widely used by blind people to read and write, and was the first digital form of writing.Braille was devised in 1825 by Louis Braille, a blind Frenchman. Each Braille character, or cell, is made up of six dot positions, arranged in a rectangle containing two...
on some signs, the signage section is looked upon as benefitting persons who are blind and visually impaired, some of the sign guidelines benefit persons with mobility impairments or hearing impairments. In addition, one can say generally that easy to read and well thought out signage systems
Signage systems
Signage systems are visually oriented information systems, consisting of signs, maps, arrows, color codings systems, pictograms and different typographic elements...
are of definite benefit to people who are deaf, have problems speaking, have cognitive disabilities or psychiatric conditions that cause them to avoid speaking to strangers.
The general rules for signage covered by the law are these: (the exact wording may be consulted on the website of the United States Access Board at http://www.access-board.gov/)
All signs must have non-glare
Glare (vision)
Glare is difficulty seeing in the presence of bright light such as direct or reflected sunlight or artificial light such as car headlamps at night. Because of this, some cars include mirrors with automatic anti-glare functions....
backgrounds and characters. (Exception is for reflective parking and other traffic sign
Traffic sign
Traffic signs or road signs are signs erected at the side of roads to provide information to road users. With traffic volumes increasing over the last eight decades, many countries have adopted pictorial signs or otherwise simplified and standardized their signs to facilitate international travel...
s.) Glare and reflection are a major problem for persons with vision impairments, and particularly for the elderly.
All signs must have a high dark to light (or vice versa) contrast
Contrast (vision)
Contrast is the difference in visual properties that makes an object distinguishable from other objects and the background. In visual perception of the real world, contrast is determined by the difference in the color and brightness of the object and other objects within the same field of view...
between characters and their background. The important issue is not color, but lightness and darkness. Thus, a sign with very light gray letters on a charcoal gray background would be fine, but a sign with red letters on a black background would not.
All signs must have "easy to read" typeface
Typeface
In typography, a typeface is the artistic representation or interpretation of characters; it is the way the type looks. Each type is designed and there are thousands of different typefaces in existence, with new ones being developed constantly....
s. The rules are different for signs that identify rooms and spaces, and signs that direct and inform. That's because persons who are "functionally blind," that is, have no usable vision
Visual perception
Visual perception is the ability to interpret information and surroundings from the effects of visible light reaching the eye. The resulting perception is also known as eyesight, sight, or vision...
, are able to locate doors, and therefore can locate signs adjacent to doors that identify them, but have no consistent way to find directional and information signs that could be located anywhere along corridors.
Directional and informational signs can use upper and lower case letters (recommended by many experts for visual readability) and "simple" serif
Serif
In typography, serifs are semi-structural details on the ends of some of the strokes that make up letters and symbols. A typeface with serifs is called a serif typeface . A typeface without serifs is called sans serif or sans-serif, from the French sans, meaning “without”...
typefaces of a non-decorative nature. No condensed or extended typeface
Typeface
In typography, a typeface is the artistic representation or interpretation of characters; it is the way the type looks. Each type is designed and there are thousands of different typefaces in existence, with new ones being developed constantly....
s are allowed. Strokes are of medium weight, not too bold or too thin. The size of the letters is dictated by the distance of the sign from the expected position of the sign reader. Signs high upon walls or overhead must have 3 inch high characters (measured by the uppercase character).
Signs that identify rooms and spaces are to be located adjacent to the door they identify so they can be located by persons who are functionally blind. For the most part, one sign is used by both tactile and visual readers, so there are compromises to assist tactile readers. However, it is possible to use two separate signs with the same information. Tactile signs require uppercase characters in sans serif typefaces. (No, Helvetica
Helvetica
Helvetica is a widely used sans-serif typeface developed in 1957 by Swiss typeface designer Max Miedinger with Eduard Hoffmann.-Visual distinctive characteristics:Characteristics of this typeface are:lower case:square dot over the letter i....
is not required, other sans-serif typefaces can be used.) The characters can be from 5/8 inch to 2 inches high. The braille must accompany the characters (usually placed below the characters) and must be Contracted Braille (formerly called Grade 2 Braille). The signs are installed 60 inches on center from the finish floor. If pictograms are used to identify the space (example: restrooms with gender pictograms), they must be in a six inch high clear field and accompanied by a tactile character and Braille label below the field.
There are four pictograms that stand for accessibility. One is the familiar International Symbol of Access
International Symbol of Access
The International Symbol of Access , also known as the Wheelchair Symbol, consists of a blue square overlaid in white with a stylized image of a person using a wheelchair...
, or "wheelchair symbol." It's used generally to show that persons with mobility impairments can access entrances, restrooms, or pathways. Three are specifically for persons with hearing impairments. The "ear" pictogram is the International Symbol of Access for Hearing Loss, and is used to show the availability of an assistive listening system. The "keyboard" pictogram stands for a TTY
TTY
TTY may stand for:* Teleprinter or Teletypewriter or Teletype Printer, a typewriter paired with an electronic communication channel, used for telecommunications or as a computer terminal....
or text telephone. The "phone" pictogram with sound waves stands for the availability of a volume controlled phone.
The actual standards for the signs (and most other standards used in ADA regulations and state building codes), are actually the product of the ANSI (American National Standards Institute) A117.1 Committee. This large committee is made up of a balanced group of representatives from industry, the government, disability organizations, designers, code officials, and experts. it meets in 5 year cycles to revise the last published standard. The standard is then used by the International Code Council for its model building code
Building code
A building code, or building control, is a set of rules that specify the minimum acceptable level of safety for constructed objects such as buildings and nonbuilding structures. The main purpose of building codes are to protect public health, safety and general welfare as they relate to the...
, and has formed the basis of the new version of the ADA Guidelines, now called the 2004 ADA/ABA and available on the website of the Access Board at http://www.access-board.gov/ They are already adopted by several federal agencies, and had been approved by the Department of Justice and were awaiting final review by the OMB when the Obama Administration came in. Ironically, although they are actually a product of the Clinton administration and have taken 8 years to make it through the Bush Administration, the Obama Administration now considers them Bush Administration regulations, and is holding them up. Therefore, they are back at the Department of Justice for a review by the new administration.
ADA Braille Sign Installation Specifications
http://www.terrareproductions.com/ada_signage.phphttp://www.terrareproductions.com/PDFs/Instalation%20Instructions.pdf