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
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