Signs of the Times - March 2013 - (Page 62)

ADA: One Year Later Misconceptions persist; more changes to come? By Steve Aust SignedH.intoBush by President law George W. on July 26, 1990, the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) represented a huge change in protecting the rights and quality of life for millions of disabled and handicapped Americans. However, despite the benefits of ADA-regulated signage, limitations and ambiguities permeated the original code. For instance, under the old standards, the specifications didn’t include dual-message signs that incorporated both tactile and braille signage. Also, the prior standards greenlighted “simple serif” fonts for raised, uppercase, tactile characters, but the interpretation of “simple” remained subjective for overworked, local-code administrators. Among many other changes, the new standards allow dual-message signs with both tactile copy, for the unsighted, who must use their sense of touch to read a sign, and visual characters, with suitable contrast with the background to help those with low vision or non-sight impairments to locate their destination. The latest Standards of Accessible Design (SAD) – the common name for ADA specifications – went into effect as the required standards for all new construction on March 15, 2012. Several industry experts offer insights into the most essential aspects of the 2010 SAD and how they benefit the ADA-sign market, as well as thoughts about what’s to come in this ever-evolving sign market (include some potentially disquieting developments on the horizon). Grady Brown Grady Brown, who recently became president of iZone Imaging (Temple, TX), has worked for 27 years as a designer and project manager within the ADA-sign market. He co-authored the Society for Environmental Graphic Design’s (SEGD) whitepaper about the SAD 2010 standards. He noted that the sign industry’s sophistication in addressing ADA requirements has grown exponentially from their inception. “The initial launch of the ADA regulations caused tremendous consternation in the sign industry,” Brown said. “Many in the industry were afraid it was going to become a terrible burden. But, we generally adapted to it as just another challenge. In the early days, so many companies tried so many different fabrication techniques in an effort to become compliant. Braille and other ADA-compliant characters were fabricated by stamping, etching, reverse engraving, inserting raised pins into panels … there were a lot of innovative solutions, but some were more successful than others. The development of the Raster™ Braille system [which uses a routing or engraving machine to insert spherical dots into various substrates] helped standardize the market.” He continued, “For the most part, I think the standards have been 62 SIGNS OF THE TIMES / MARCH 2013 / www.signweb.com accepted by the market. The 2010 standards remove many areas that were unclear in the old standards. For example, requirements for raised characters were more clearly defined, as were mounting conditions. I think it was also significant to eliminate the ‘simple serif’ guideline for tactile signs, which eliminates the use of serif fonts for raised characters, because it removed ambiguity.” While the inclusion of dualmessage signs into the new standards was undoubtedly a key ADA-sign development, Brown also cited the development of specific character sizes that relate to the sign’s installed height above the ground. SAD section 703.5.5 clearly specifies that characters on a directional or informational sign installed 40 to 70 in. above the floor must measure at least 5/8 in.; those 70 to 120 in. above must span at least 2 in., and visual characters for wall- or ceiling-mounted signs more than 10 ft. above ground must be at least 3 in. tall. Another standard he deems significant is Section 703.4.2, a new stipulation that requires at least 18 in. sq. of unobstructed space in front of a tactile sign, centered on the tactile characters, and outside of the door’s swing or any other object that could block a clear sightline of the sign. “This might require some adjustment from architects,” Brown said. “They often have long-established ideas about fixture placement, and http://www.signweb.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Signs of the Times - March 2013

Signs of the Times - March 2013
Contents
ST Update
Smart Inking
Technology Update
Vinyl Apps
Strictly Electric
Lighting Techniques
The Moving Message
Technology Review
Technology Review
Design Matters
New Products
ADA: One Year Later
The Supergraphic Connection
ISA Sign Expo 2013 Preview
Compensability and Valuation of Billboards in Condemnation
Industry News
Advertising Index
Editorially Speaking

Signs of the Times - March 2013