California Sign Codes
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| California (Title 24) Braille
California has its own, unique standard for Braille. Dots within cells must be 1/10 inch apart, measured from the centers. The cells are 2/10 or 3/10 inch apart, depending on how you measure. If you measure from the second column of dots to the first column in the next adjacent cell in the same word, it is 2/10 inch. If you measure from dot to corresponding dot, it is 3/10 inch. Dots must be 1/40 (0.025) inch high. Although it is not stated, the assumption is that dots will have a rounded shape.
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Geometric Door Signs
California requires, in addition to Braille and raised character restroom identification signs installed adjacent to the doors, large geometric signs on the doors of restrooms. A 12 inch diameter circle stands for the women's or girl's restroom. A 12 inch equilateral triangle stands for the men's or boy's restroom. A triangle placed on top of and within a 12 inch diameter circle stands for a unisex restroom. All geometric symbols must be 1/4 inch thick, and must contrast with the door. The symbols can be left blank, but they are an appropriate place to put the International Symbol of Accessibility, or wheelchair symbol, when the restrooms they identify are accessible.
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Typestyles, Character and Stroke Proportions for Tactile Characters
Although the current ADAAG only mentions proportions for visual characters and allows so-called "simple serifs" for tactile characters, California has more stringent requirements.
Tactile characters must have characters widths that are from 60 percent to 100 percent of their heights, and strokes must be a minimum of 10 percent, and a maximum of 20 percent of character height. No standards are given for measurements, although the uppercase "X" is used for heights of visual characters. Either the uppercase "I" or "X" can be used for character height and for stroke width.
For character width, the widest part of an uppercase letter "O" can be used, or the base of the "X" can be measured. If the characters used for measurement fall within the parameters of the code, the entire font is presumed to be compliant.
As to typestyle, California allows sans serif typefaces only for tactile characters. The most readable tactile character is sans serif, uppercase, with the character width as close to 100 percent of the height as possible, and with a stroke that is wider at the base and beveled to 10 percent of height at the top surface.
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| The Access Store offers California Braille fonts and Title 24 restroom door signs. |
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