Business owners everywhere know the importance of good signage. However, not everyone is knowledgeable about how to design and install ADA signs. The ADA, or Americans with Disabilities Act, established certain standards for signage that businesses and organizations must follow. It’s not just a choice; it’s the law.

There are several key aspects of a well-designed, compliant ADA sign. Let’s look at a few of them.

Raised Letters

If your sign is a restroom sign or sign indicating a specific location within a building, such as a conference room, it should be ADA compliant. One way that a sign is compliant with these requirements is by having raised letters. What does this mean? Well, raised letters are tactile; that is, they can be touched and read by those with vision impairments. Your ADA signs should have this feature, as it will benefit any of your visitors who are visually impaired.

Braille

Braille is a language for the blind and visually impaired. This language consists of raised bumps or dots, and even has its own alphabet that corresponds with the English alphabet. Your ADA signs should contain Braille characters. Again, this helps people with vision impairments read your sign. They will know where they are going and what is inside the room.

Fonts

The font for your ADA signs should be sans-serif and not contain any sort of script or italics. Avoid fonts that are too decorative or unusual. A sans-serif font on your sign aids in readability not just for those with vision impairments, but people with learning disabilities such as dyslexia.

Contrast and Color

This is yet another important aspect of designing your ADA sign. While it can be good to stick to your brand’s color scheme, be very aware of any contrast issues that may occur. You want any ADA sign to have a strong dark-to-light contrast to it. Also, avoid colors that appear to “vibrate” when placed next to each other, such as red and green. When in doubt, you can always go with the classic dark blue background with white text over it. This color combination has a good level of contrast and is easy to read.

Get Your ADA Signs Today

As you can tell, there are many different factors to consider when designing ADA signs. If you want help making sure your sign is compliant with the law, give WeSign, LLC. and Graphics a call. We are your signage source, and we’d love to help you design and install your next project. Contact us today for a free quote.