This year, 2020, marks the 30th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act or ADA. Signed into law in 1990 by President George H.W. Bush, the ADA law guarantees the civil rights of the disabled. The focus of the ADA has been to end discrimination of the disabled by allowing access to opportunities in the workforce.
A key component is ensuring that buildings, facilities and transit vehicles are accessible to people with disabilities. This means built environments must be designed to make reasonable accommodations for the disabled for easy navigation.
Some of those protected by the act are the 12 million Americans with visual impairment, including those with age-related visual challenges, as well as the blind. ADA Compliant signage is a part of the design standards covered by the ADA, to accommodate the visually impaired. Wayfinding signs and directionals – for retail, office buildings, recreational complexes, educational campuses, hospitals, airports and transit – must meet ADA standards. Also, in this category, identifiers such as signs for restrooms, exits, stairs and hazards such as the signage that is featured in PSCO’s first custom wayfinding product offering known as the K-Line Series.
Download K-Line Brochure and Product Catalogue
The ADA specifies signage must be clear, precise and well-placed. Guidelines stipulate signs employ high contrast colors; large, easy-to-read type; tactile components for braille readers and meet height requirements for placement. PSCO as a standard follows these guidelines when it comes time to plan out a complete wayfinding solution for your facility. We’ve made it a point to know and follow the best practices of ADA sign design, so business owners, facility managers and more have one less item on their minds and one more boost to their businesses — an environment that’s appealing — and open — for all.Understanding ADA Standards
ADA accessibility guidelines state compliant signs must be stationed in all permanent, public and private-access building areas. If you’re identifying a particular room or area in a building, that room or area needs a sign, and if that room or area experiences visitors of any kind, then it would be a good opportunity to identify if that signage would need to be ADA compliant. This type of planning can be done with a wayfinding planner as you are planning your wayfinding strategy for your facility. ADA-MANDATED SIGN LOCATIONS Federal and state regulations maintain that signs must be outfitted wherever there are the following:- Restrooms
- Exit and entryways, both regular and emergency
- Stairways and ramps
- Loading docks/zones
- Elevators and lifts
- Parking and passenger loading areas
- Alarms
- Specialty instruments, controls and operational machinery
- Telephones
- Automated Teller Machines (ATMs)
- Seating areas
- Dressing and fitting rooms
We at PSCO celebrate thirty years of access, opportunity and inclusion for Americans with disabilities. PSCO has been there from the start! Our design team members understand the complexities of ADA regulations. We are able to craft signage that meets the stringent compliances while complementing your branded design elements. Whether new construction or renovation of an existing space, our ADA compliant signs are a crucial part of your sign family.
In need of ADA-Compliant Signs? Reach out to PSCO today to enhance your facility
The technicalities and level of detail involved in the ADA’s accessibility guidelines can be intimidating. Let our nationwide network of wayfinding experts take care of ADA design requirements and signage for you, in one shop, with one team.
- We perform onsite analysis and measurements.
- We select the compliant sign type and level of detail to complement your brand.
- We create the sign family and portfolio.
- We double check today’s latest ADA standards.
- We design, fabricate and install the fully compliant signs.