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Visual Signs
What do visual signs have to do with people who are blind? Lots, if those people use their vision to read large print and to get around buildings! Unfortunately, most people think that they need only to pay attention to rules for Braille and tactile signs, and they ignore this very large part of the blindness community.
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Are there rules for every sign you might find in and around a building? No, because signs that are for advertising or marketing purposes, such as trade names, are not covered. The signs that are covered are those we call "wayfinding" signs, signs that direct us around a facility and signs that give us important information about using the facility.
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Two of the most important rules have to do with sign materials and colors. The vital information on signs must be non-glare, or non-reflective. Even so-called "matte" metals are usually too shiny for many people. Ask building owners to confine shiny metals or plastics to decorative parts of the sign where there is no text. Second, there must be a very high contrast of dark and light colors between the important text and the background. Again, subtle colors are fine if they are confined to decoration on the sign.
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Of course the readability of the type itself is vital. Believe it or not, although it is not a rule, upper and lowercase letters often are easier to read than all caps. Typefaces should be non-decorative, with easy-to-recognize character shapes. When signs are overhead, they need large letters, with at least three inch high capitals. Otherwise, the letters should be large enough so that they are easy to see from an appropriate distance. For instance, a site plan can be approached closely and is large, so lettering can be fairly small. But a sign behind a counter needs to be larger, since you can't get close to it.
Go to pictogram rules |
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