Are you thinking about making your business signs ADA compliant?
Choosing to put up ADA compliant signs in your business premises is a great decision. It will surely make the lives of people with visual disabilities a lot easier and allow them to navigate your premises with greater ease. Moreover, using ADA compliant signs in your business premises will also help build a more caring brand personality for your business. It will show your customers that you are concerned with the well-being of everyone and are committed to creating an inclusive environment.
Moreover, creating ADA compliant business signs is not as difficult as you would imagine. There are simply a few strict regulations that you must keep in mind. Once you follow their clearly specified guidelines and pay attention to incorporate them in your signage, you will easily be able to meet their criteria. Continue reading this article to find out simple tips for making great ADA compliant business signs.
Your Sign Should Have a Non-Glare Finish
The first requirement for a sign to be ADA compliant is that it should be non-reflective. Your sign should mainly be made of matte, eggshell, or other non-glare materials. A glossimeter is usually used to measure a material’s reflectivity before approving it to be ADA compliant. This regulation ensures that the business sign is easy to read and its visibility is not easily distorted by light reflections.
The Letters and the Background Should Have a High Contrast
The next condition for a business sign to be ADA compliant is that the sign should have a contrast ratio of at least 70% between the letters on it and its background. This means you must use much darker letters against a light-colored background or use light-colored letters on a dark background. This criterion again aims to improve readability for visually impaired individuals.
The Size of the Letters Should be Big Enough
Another thing you need to keep in mind when designing business signs to be ADA compliant is the size of the letters. According to the regulations, the tactile letters in a sign should be at least 1/32” in thickness. Moreover, the smallest letter can be 5/8” in height and the largest is allowed to be 2” tall. All the letters must also be in upper case so that they are easier to recognize. If the sizes of the letters do not follow these dimensions requirements, then the business sign will not be accepted as ADA compliant.
The Font Chosen Should be Simple
One more criterion that you must satisfy for your business signs to get approved as ADA compliant is the simplicity of the font. The type style or font you use in your signs must not be italic or cursive so as to avoid confusion. The simplicity of the font will ensure that visually impaired individuals can easily identify each character in the sign when they touch it.
For more details on ADA compliant business signs, please visit our website.
