Don’t make the mistake of thinking that your signage is clear to everyone. There is an increasing number of visually impaired people in today’s population. The difference now though, is that more and more folk with poor vision are managing to navigate the world around them in the quest to become more independent.
As opposed to signage for the blind, where Braille features are included, signs for the visually impaired are way less complicated.
Hot tip shortlist:
- Letter height should be 15-50mm.
- The minimum spacing between letters should be 2mm.
- The minimum spacing between words should be 10mm.
- Letter stroke thickness should be 2-7mm.
The genre of signage that you’ll need to make easy to read would include:
- Emergency exits
- Payment counters
- Restrooms
- Lifts or escalators
- Staircases
- Emergency telephones
- Room numbers
- Floor numbers
- Cautionary signage
- Bus stop/train platform numbers
Factoring Features in Signage for the Visually Impaired & Colour Blind
With a few tips under your belt, the signs you create can be made to include the visually impaired, as well as colour blind or CVD (Colour Vision Disability) customers and employees.
In case you raised your eyebrows at including those who are colour blind, be assured that CVD is more common than one tends to think. CVD refers to the inability to distinguish between some colours and shades and some 8% of all men and fewer women, have a form of CVD visual impairment.
So here are the dos and don’ts.
Common Color Combinations to Avoid
- Light green and yellow
- Green and red
- Green and grey
- Green and blue
- Green and brown
- Green and black
- Blue and grey
- Blue and purple
CVD and Visually Impaired-friendly Colour Combos
- Red and blue
- Brown and blue
- Orange and blue
While this list may seem horribly limited, remember that the visually impaired and those with a form of CBV will be able to distinguish light and darker shades/ SO, if you pair a light green with a deep red, they will see that they are different, however, the actual colours appear to them.
CVD and Visually Impaired-friendly Font Styles to Use
- Arial
- Calibri
- Century Gothic
- Helvetica
- Tahoma
- Verdana
In short, the visually impaired and those with CVD are independent members of the community with needs easily incorporated when it comes to signage. Your signage suggestions can make all the difference with just a little knowledge.
Contact us at Signkor for help with your signage requirements. If you are interested in working together, call +27 (0) 11 434 2140 or send us an email.
