Uniform Federal Accessibility Standards (UFAS)

A.4.30 SIGNAGE.

A4.30.1 GENERAL.

In building complexes where finding locations independently on a routine basis may be a necessity (for example, college campuses), tactile maps or prerecorded instructions can be very helpful to visually impaired people. Several maps and auditory instructions have been developed and tested for specific applications. The type of map or instructions used must be based on the information to be communicated, which depends highly on the type of buildings or users.

Landmarks that can easily be distinguished by visually impaired individuals are useful as orientation cues. Such cues include changes in illumination level, bright colors, unique patterns, wall murals, location of special equipment, or other architectural features (for example, an exterior view).

Many people with disabilities have limitations in movement of their head and reduced peripheral vision. Thus, signage positioned perpendicular to the path of travel is easiest for them to notice. People can generally distinguish signage within an angle of 30 degrees of either side of the centerline of their face without moving their head.

A4.30.2 CHARACTER PROPORTION.

The legibility of printed characters is a function of the viewing distance, character height, the ratio of the stroke width to the height of the character, the contrast of color between character and background, and print font. The size of characters must be based upon the intended viewing distance. A severely nearsighted person may have to be much closer to see a character of a given size accurately than a person with normal visual acuity.

A4.30.3 COLOR CONTRAST.

The greatest readability is usually achieved through the use of light-colored characters or symbols on a dark background.

A4.30.4 RAISED OR INDENTED CHARACTERS OR SYMBOLS.

Signs with descriptive materials about public buildings, monuments, and objects of cultural interest can be raised or incised letters. However, a sighted guide or audio-tape device is often a more effective way to present such information. Raised characters are easier to feel at small sizes and are not susceptible to maintenance problems as are indented characters, which can fill with dirt, cleaning compounds, and the like.

Braille characters can be used in addition to standard alphabet characters and numbers. Placing braille characters to the left of standard characters makes them more convenient to read. Standard dot sizing and spacing as used in braille publications are acceptable. Raised borders around raised characters can make them confusing to read unless the border is set far away from the characters.