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Frequently Asked Questions About the ADA
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| The ADA sign section in the Federal Register isn't even two pages long. Why is it necessary to have an entire manual to explain it? |
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Unfortunately, the familiar section in the ADA Accessibility Guidelines is only the tip of the iceberg! There are mentions of signs scattered throughout the rest of the document. And a lot of explanation is necessary to understand just what guidelines apply to certain kinds of signs. In addition, there are some important differences in various states, and of course there are some interpretations that have been published by the Department of Justice. |
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| Isn't the government constantly changing the ADA rules on us? |
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Believe it or not, ADA sign guidelines have not changed once since 1991 when they were first written! However, various states may have published their state building codes in the meantime, and there might be some more stringent rules in your state.
ANSI (American National Standards Institute), a private, non-profit standards setting organization, did come out with new standards, including a completely rewritten sign section, in 1998, and then simplified it without actually changing the standards, in 2003. The federal government, which is in charge of the ADA, has used these simplified standards in its proposed rewrite of the ADA sign guidelines.
After many years of bureaucratic delays, the new "Design Standards," as they are now being called, have been adopted by some federal agencies, such as the Department of Transportation. However, the Department of Justice has yet to adopt the new standards, so Title 3, for privately owned facilities, and many Title 2, or government entities, are still using the old ADAAG.
When the new standards are finally adopted by the Department of Justice, they will be the same for all facilities: federal, state, local government, and privately owned. Although it will have taken more than 15 years, that should be a great day for everyone who designs, fabricates, or uses accessible signs.
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| ADA signs are supposed to be "non-glare." Can we use metals at all for ADA signs? |
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You can, but remember that it should have a minimum 70% contrast with the characters and that there can be no reflection or glare. Most brushed metals and metals with a "satin" finish would not meet the glare standard in the ADAAG Appendix. A very light natural aluminum with a slight blasted finish to cut glare may work with black characters. A dark oxidized bronze would need very light characters.
However, a creative sign designer can find many ways to use even highly polished metals as decorative elements in sign systems without compromising the readability of the message. One possibility is a "combination" sign, with both visual and tactile sections. The tactile section does not need to be visible, so lack of contrast and a shiny surface are fine, and the tactile sign portion can be integrated into the design.
If you are using metal for its durability rather than for its metallic finish, remember that painted metal is susceptible to scratching and to wear from regular cleaning and touching. If the paint on the characters comes off, then the sign is no longer readable and must be repainted or replaced, so the longevity of the metal may cease to be an asset.
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| How do we determine contrast on signs? What colors work best? |
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Contrast is between light and dark, not between colors. For instance, a very pale grey (almost white) would be fine with a charcoal grey background. Brown and green or red and black do not, however, contrast for people with defective color vision. And contrary to most people's belief, signs with a red background, even with white characters, are actually among the most difficult to read.
Although contrast is not defined in the guidelines, the Appendix does suggest a minimum of 70%. The formula given in the appendix works quite well if you use one color that is very light and one that is quite dark. The formula fails, however, when you use two dark colors; it will indicate a much higher contrast than the colors actually have. The scientific reasons are complex, but an ANSI Task Group is working on a better formula.
Research into color has yielded many useful guidelines for designers. Early research sponsored by the Access Board shows, for instance, that a 70 percent contrast, using the formula, with white characters on a "medium" color background are almost invisible to a people whose average acuity is 20/200 if they are much less than one and a half inches in height.
Since tactile readers need smaller characters so they can experience the entire shape of the character "all at once," these small signs probably need to have a greater dark/light contrast than larger, visual signs. As characters are two inches and larger, they become more visually accessible, even with less dark/light contrast.
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| How do we measure darkness and lightness of colors? |
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Paint colors are almost always measured by the manufacturer for Light Reflectance Value, or LRV. Any other material used to make signs can also be measured very easily and inexpensively. Light Reflectance Values go from 1 to 100, with low number assigned to dark colors, and high numbers to light colors.
In practical terms, most black paints would measure about 4, and whites would measure about 89. If you get a large fan deck from a major paint distributor, you can find a color that is virtually identical to the color of your material, and then check the LRV of that color in the index attached to the deck.
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| Should all ADA restroom signs be blue? |
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Although the standard color for the International Symbol of Accessibility (ISA, or "wheelchair" pictogram) is white on blue, and many restroom signs do have the ISA on the sign, there is no reason why the sign has to be blue, because most states do not require that color, even for the ISA.
California restroom door signs (circles and triangles) also are not required to be blue, but instead, are required to differ in "color and contrast" from that of the door. Obviously, if the door is blue, a blue sign would not meet this requirement.
It is true that signs that in some way designate or direct to accessible features can benefit from the use of blue, because that is a color that the public is accustomed to for such signs.
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| Don't all tactile signs have to use Helvetica? |
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No. There are no specific type faces specified by the ADA guidelines, or by the ANSI standards. Helvetica is just the most well-known sans serif type face, and has been widely used for signs. Some people may have taken its popularity to mean that this font is required, but this is not the case.
Unfortunately, for tactile readers, Helvetica is not the easiest type face to read. Its popularity also tends to give signs an "institutional" look, which may not suit the style of the building at all. There are many other attractive and easy to read sans serif type faces that can add some individual character to ADA signs.
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| Is it true that photopolymer signs won't be legal any more after the new ADA rules are passed? |
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The proposed ADA rules do not rule out any fabrication methods. They do, however, call for rounded or domed Braille dots. Although it does take additional attention to detail, it is possible to comply using photopolymer. |
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| Current ADA guidelines call for "simple" serifs. What is a simple serif? |
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There is no such term in typography. Originally, a research group under contract to the Access Board recommended that visual signs use "sans serif or simple serif type faces without excessive flourishes or deviations in stroke width." In other words, visual signs should not use decorative or script type faces, but could use serif type faces of "simple" design. They recommended that tactile signs use upper case sans serif characters.
Unfortunately, when ADAAG was written, whether through an attempt to simplify the guidelines, or through failure to notice the difference between the two recommendations, the term "simple serif," with no further detail, was used for both visual and tactile signs. The proposed rules eliminate this confusing term completely, although they do allow non-decorative serif type faces for visual signs.
Designers who want to use "best practices" should not specify serif faces, even if they consider them "simple," for tactile signs, since serifs make tactile characters very difficult to read.
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| Are the new ADA rules in effect yet? |
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No, although the ANSI standards upon which the new proposed guidelines are based were first published in 1998, and the first version of the "new ADAAG" came before the public in 1999. The ANSI standards for signs remained the same in 2003, but the text is shortened and simplified. There have been many bureaucratic delays in the process of Access Board approval, along with some changes, but in late 2006 the revised Design Standards finally reached the Department of Justice.
Although the Department of Transportation and some other federal agencies are already using the new Design Standards, until the DOJ certifies them, they are not "official" for most projects. However, you don't need to wait to use most of the new sign section, since very little of it conflicts in any way with the old guidelines.
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| What benefit is there in using the new rules now? |
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Using the new rules will produce better, more readable signs. And, when the new rules do pass, your signs will be more up-to-date. |
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| Which new guidelines can I use right now? |
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Tactile characters will benefit from the new standards for character and stroke proportions, typeface choices and intercharacter spacing. New Braille guidelines for roundness and placement will help. Use the size chart for all visual characters below 80 inches from the floor. |
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| Which proposed new guidelines should I avoid in favor of the current guidelines? |
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Continue to place tactile signs 60 inches on center from the floor and to locate them adjacent to the door rather than on it. Sizes of visual characters 80 inches above the floor should remain at 3 inches minimum. Character and stroke proportions of visual characters should remain the same. |
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| Why are the new standards for intercharacter spacing important? |
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When tactile characters are very close together, it becomes very difficult to tell where one ends and the other begins. The shapes are then very hard to recognize. Under the current guidelines, many designers choose serif typefaces and place characters close together. Serifs may touch and form enclosed spaces between characters. Readers perceive that space as a new character, and try to read it.
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| Why do you advocate beveled characters? |
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The easiest way to answer that is to invite you to read two signs, one with beveled characters and one with straight sided characters! The thin spine of the beveled character and the softer character edge is much easier to distinguish by touch. At the same time, the broader base provides better adhesion to the sign face, and also is easier for the sighted reader since it appears bolder.
However, the preference for beveled characters is also mentioned in the current ADAAG Appendix, so it's a well-recognized preference.
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| I'm in California. How is California Braille different from ADAAG Braille? |
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Actually, it's not! All Braille, both according to ADAAG and to California code, must be contracted, or Grade 2 Braille, which means that it is a kind of shorthand. Letter combinations and even some words are represented by fewer cells than with Grade 1 Braille, which uses one cell for each letter in a word.
For instance, a one cell contraction is used for the letter combination "en," so "men" is spelled with only two cells, and "women" has four cells rather than five. There are no other rules for Braille in the federal guidelines.
However, California does have rules about the space between dots and cells. They are somewhat greater than the spaces in the font used to publish books, so that signs will be easier to read. And, in California, the dot height is mandated. Dots must be 1/40th inch high.
ANSI standards do have spacing rules, and they include the California rules. The "new ADAAG" will have those same spacing rules as well.
California Braille spacing is legal throughout the United States, since ADAAG is silent on the subject.
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