Do you want to make sure your signs are ADA compliant? Avoid the following mistakes.
Development and installation of business signs that adhere to the standards set by the American Disabilities Act (ADA) is a mandatory requirement. Businesses that don’t follow the standard ADA signage requirements are subject to legal consequences. If you want to protect your company from being fined by the authorities, it is in your best interest to keep your signs ADA compliant.
Most people believe that the mere inclusion of Braille to their business signs fulfills the ADA signage requirement. However, Braille is just one of the many ADA signage considerations that one can’t miss out on. In this article, we shall discuss the most common mistakes that you must avoid to keep your business signs ADA compliant.
Incorrect Font Choice
The ADA sign requirements are clear and straightforward. ADA signs must have tactile characters in the sans serif font. The text should be in the uppercase and should not be italicized. The purpose of these requirements is to make your business signs prominent and readable. Your job is to follow these requirements to keep your signs simple and not violate any ADA requirements by being too fancy.
Poor Spacing
Another important consideration with ADA signs is the space between the tactile characters. Space shouldn’t be less than 1/8 inches. This spacing between the characters makes these signs more readable for people with imperfect eyesight. Even though these signs appear a little off, they are still readable, which is what you want. Make sure not to reduce the spacing between these characters.
Awkward Mounting
Another common mistake is the incorrect mounting of the signs. Tactile characters on signs should be mounted 48-60 inches from the ground. In short, when you are mounting the sign keep in mind the height of the tactile characters above the ground.
Incorrect Character Size
To keep your signs ADA compliant, make sure that the character size is correct. Your job is to keep the height of tactile characters between 5/8th of an inch and 2 inches at max. The size requirements for dual-message signs are slightly different. In the case of dual-message signs, you can reduce the size of your tactile characters to ½ an inch.
Braille Misuse
Messing up the ADA Braille requirements on signs is quite common. Most people make use of square-shaped dots on their signs. However, according to the ADA requirements, the Braille dots should either be rounded or domed. Also, the spots need to be placed right underneath the corresponding text.
Avoiding the aforementioned mistakes is essential for two reasons. First of all, by avoiding these mistakes, you will fulfill ADA requirements and save yourself from legal trouble. Secondly, by avoiding these mistakes, you will make your workplace appear more inclusive, thus adding to customer experience.
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