Braille and Tactile Signage

Ensure compliance by investing in custom ADA-compliant signs and office signage.

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA) are vital regulations designed to eliminate discrimination and guarantee accessibility for all.

Our custom produced ADA braille and tactile [clear and raised] signs offer a branded and practical solution to assist both visitors and staff in navigating your premises while adhering to goverment requirements.

Much of the following information has been directly sourced from Braille Literacy Canada.

Our team is ready to help you navigate the intricacies of AODA signage, through design, proofing, production, and installation.

Types of AODA/Accessible Signs

Braille signs

Braille is a form of tactile writing learned and used by the visually impaired, including individuals who are blind, deafblind, or who have low vision. The raised pattern of dots represent different characters and can be read with the eyes, as well. Braille signs have domed or rounded braille dots with a height of 0.6 to 0.9mm and a base diameter of 1.5 to 1.6mm. Contracted braille is used for signs with sentences comprised of 10 or more words, and uncontracted braille is used for floor directories and signs with 10 words or less.

Tactile Signs

Tactile means “understood through sense of touch”. Characters and pictograms are raised 0.8 to 1.5 mm above the surface, and have Grade 1 Braille located directly below the associated pictograph or large text. All doors within the public spaces of a facility should be identified with tactile signage.

Where are accessible signs needed?

Accessible signs should be provided for any feature of a building that would normally be given a print sign. Signs have three functions:

Informational

communicate information

Directional

direct to a facility or service

Locational

identify a location

It’s recommended that braille and high-contrast tactile print signage be provided in the following places. These are examples only and do not represent an exhaustive list.

Washrooms and Showers – both general and specifically accessible facilities.
Elevators – controls and floor indicators.
Numbers on stair landing handrails to allow identification of floors.
Office and hotel room name/number plates.
Emergency doors and exits.
Emergency evacuation instructions.
Cautionary signage.
Floor and building directories.
Door controls on public transportation vehicles – emergency and standard.
Free telephones in shopping malls.
Bus stop and train platform numbers.
Signage in assembly areas and gathering places (arenas, stadiums, auditoriums, places of worship).
Operating instructions e.g., for vending machines or toilets.

Where detailed information is provided through signage, for example emergency evacuation instructions or building directories, consider providing this information separately in alternative formats such as braille with tactile diagrams, large print, accessible electronic text and audio. This allows building users to read and refer to the information when they are not standing directly next to the sign.

Guidelines for Accessible signage

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Signs should be accessible to all users of the building or facility, including new braille learners, deafblind and low-vision people, and those with additional learning difficulties.
The most accessible sign is one which contains braille, raised print and raised pictograms where appropriate (for example, male and female washrooms). Always accompany any pictogram with print and braille text. Some readers will not know what the pictogram means without accompanying text.
Where possible, braille, print and pictograms should be included on the same sign. Having multiple formats on one sign helps some readers clarify or confirm the meaning and strengthens the sign’s message.
The braille should convey the same information as the print.
The braille should be in the same language(s) as the print.
When signage includes both English and French text, there should be both English and French braille. A side-by-side layout of English and French raised text and braille is suggested.
Do not convey information solely through colour or images. Provide information in raised print and braille as well. Make signs clear and unambiguous. Keep text short and simple.

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Place signs at a consistent height and location around a building or facility.
Place tactile signage where it can be reached easily without obstruction.
Place signs logically and as close as possible to the object they are indicating. (e.g. place “push” near the door opening for easy location).

Note: The illustrations are not drawn to scale.

Place signs at the entry point to corridors.
In general, where a single sign contains both print and braille, place signs at a height of 1400-1600mm from floor level to the bottom of the sign. This is based on the optimum viewing height for people standing up and in wheelchairs.
If braille is placed on a separate sign, this can be lowered to 1350mm from the finished floor to the bottom of the sign plate.
Always place separate braille sign plates in a consistent location relative to the print sign.
For playgrounds, elementary schools, or other facilities where the main population is likely to be children, place the signs between 900-1200mm from floor level to the bottom of the sign plate.
Avoid suspended signs – they are very difficult to locate and too high to be read by a low-vision person.
Avoid protruding signs or sandwich boards – they are a safety hazard.
If doors are generally left open (e.g. office doors), place the sign on the wall or glass, either latch-side or hinge-side, as near to the door as possible. Choose whichever side would be more logical and usable, and be consistent throughout the building.

If doors are generally left closed (e.g. hotel room or washroom doors), place the sign on the door itself. Braille should be placed directly underneath pictograms or print numbers if they exist. Always include braille and print text as well as the pictogram. A pictogram alone is not enough.

For elevator controls, place braille to the immediate left of the buttons.

Place tactile elevator floor indicators on the leading edge of the entrance door or landing frame, at a height of 1350mm from the ground.
Be consistent around your entire facility to ensure all users can easily locate your signage.

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Ensure that the sign visually contrasts with its background so that it can be located more easily by low-vision people. For example, on a light-coloured wall, use a sign with a dark background and light-coloured print. If a sign must be placed on a similar-coloured wall, use a thick border of contrasting colour to assist with location.
For signs placed on glass, ensure that there is enough colour contrast between the sign and its background. A thick border of contrasting colour surrounding the sign may be helpful.
Avoid placing signs on backgrounds which contain a lot of visual clutter – this can include general information such as posters, pictures and pamphlets that do not communicate orientation information.
Ensure the sign is in an area with good lighting. Avoid creating shadows on areas of the sign. Task lighting can assist with location of the sign in poorly lit areas.
Reflective glare will make the sign more difficult to read. Use non-reflective surfaces and ensure that lighting does not create glare on the sign.

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All text and braille on a sign should be left-aligned and set horizontally.
Where print and braille appear on the same sign plate, place braille at least 9.5 mm below the corresponding print.
Use simple, consistent and logical layout.
Avoid complicated images – keep the design simple with a plain background. Avoid too much information on one sign.

Braille Signage

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Braille dots should have a domed or rounded shape – make sure they are not pointy or flat.
The spherical radius of each dot should be 0.75-0.80mm. The base diameter of each dot should be 1.5-1.6mm.
Each dot should have a height of 0.6-0.9mm.
Horizontal and vertical distance between two dots in the same cell should be 2.3-2.5mm.
Distance between corresponding dots in adjacent cells should be 6.1-7.6mm.
Distance between corresponding dots from one cell to the cell below should be 10-10.2mm.

The standard for braille in Canada is Unified English Braille.
For braille signs of 10 words or fewer, use uncontracted braille.
For French text, use uncontracted braille.
For floor directories, use uncontracted braille.
For signs of greater than 10 words, use contracted braille only if the sign consists of sentences such as emergency evacuation instructions. Ensure contracted braille follows Unified English Braille rules.
Generally, do not use capital letters in braille signs, except for emergency instructions which comprise sentences.
If text is multi-lined, place all the braille a minimum of 9.5 mm below the entire raised print text.
For multi-lined braille text, a semi-circular braille indicator may be horizontally aligned with and placed directly before the first braille character. This indicator is not essential.

Clear, Raised Print Signage

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The size, type and layout of lettering on signs must be clearly legible.
Use a clear, simple sans serif typeface with uniform stroke width, wide horizontal proportions and distinct letter forms, including prominent ascenders and descenders and open counterforms. Some examples of suitable typefaces are Arial, Futura, Gill Sans, Helvetica, Lucinda Sans, and Trebuchet.
Avoid using italics, stylized print, underlining and block capitals.
Lettering should be in initial upper case. This helps with letter and word recognition.
Always ensure the sign background contrasts with the print. Clear colour combinations include black text on a white background, white on black, yellow on black or black on yellow.
Do not print information over pictures or patterns.
Characters and their background should be non-reflective.
For non-tactile print, the size of the text should be related to the distance at which the information is to be viewed. Letters should have a minimum height of 15mm. If signs will be viewed from more than 3m away, the text should have a height of 5mm for each metre of viewing distance. For example, if a sign is designed to be viewed from a 5m distance, text should have a height of 25mm.

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Raised letters should have soft-shouldered edges.
Letters should be raised from the surface of the sign plate by at least 1mm.
Letter height should be 15-50mm, that is approximately 48-144pt.
Minimum spacing between letters should be 2mm.
Minimum spacing between words should be 10mm.
Letter stroke thickness should be 2-7mm.
Do not use engraved print letters. These can be very difficult to read by touch.
Raised borders and elements should be 10mm minimum from tactile characters.

Clear, Raised Print Signage

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When using pictograms for features like exits or male/female washrooms, use internationally recognized symbols.
Make sure pictograms are always accompanied by raised print and braille. The pictogram is not sufficient on its own – some people will not know what the picture means.
Raised arrows can be used to indicate direction. These should appear either at the beginning of a line of text or directly after the text label. Avoid large spaces between arrows and their labels. Where braille is on a separate sign plate, a small raised arrow should be horizontally aligned with the braille, either directly before or after the braille text.
Always ensure the sign background contrasts with the pictogram. Clear colour combinations include black text on a white background, white on black, yellow on black or black on yellow.
Raised pictograms should have soft-shouldered edges, and should be raised from the surface of the sign plate by 1mm.

French

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We encourage the use of French braille on signage alongside English braille.
Use uncontracted braille in all instances.
Use the French language signs for accented letters in braille. For example, in the word Conférence, the “e” with the accute accent would be written as dots 123456. The symbol should look like this =
Use the universal system of digits. The numeric indicator is written as dots 3456 and is placed in front of the letters a-j. For example, 2016 looks like this #bjaf
Where a sign applies equally to both English and French (i.e. a nameplate with just a person’s name on it), it is suggested that letters be brailled unaccented for universal recognition.
Please follow all other guidelines regarding placement, spacing and capitalization.

Sample Words

conférence
conf=rence
arrêter
arr>ter

Sources:

Braille Literacy Canada
c/o CNIB
1929 Bayview Avenue
Toronto, Ontario M4G 3E8

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Ensure compliance by investing in custom ADA-compliant signs and office signage.

Our team is ready to help you navigate the intricacies of AODA signage, through design, proofing, production, and installation.

Types of AODA/Accessible Signs

Braille signs

Tactile Signs

Where are accessible signs needed?

Informational

Directional

Locational

Guidelines for Accessible signage

Braille Signage

Clear, Raised Print Signage

Clear, Raised Print Signage

French

Sample Words

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