Custom Braille Signs Built For Accessibility and Compliance
Martin ADA Signs supplies a comprehensive range of high-quality ADA-compliant signage, including braille signs.
What Are ADA Signs?
ADA stands for the Americans with Disabilities Act. This civil rights law ensures people with disabilities can fully participate in society without barriers. ADA signs are part of this initiative. Signage needs to be accessible so that everyone can navigate public spaces easily.
Any permanent signs that give information, like restroom signs, room numbers, or exit signs, must follow ADA rules.
Do All ADA Signs Need Braille?
No, braille is only required on certain ADA signs. Braille gives important sign information to blind people or people with low vision using touch instead of sight. So, ADA signs with key details for getting around must add braille.
This includes signs for bathrooms, exits, room IDs, and stairwells-anything a visually impaired person needs to know to navigate a building or space. But things like decorative signs don’t need braille.
What Are the Requirements for ADA Braille Signs?
ADA braille signs must follow specific rules to be compliant. First, they have to use Grade 2 braille, the abbreviated version that takes up less space. The braille dots need to stick up from the surface so they’re easy to feel. Braille must be under the printed words, not above or after, and should be mounted at the same height on different signs for consistency.
There are also rules for dot size, spacing between characters, contrast colors, and keeping braille within a certain distance from the edges. Pictograms or symbols are great to include but are not necessarily required for ADA signage.
What is Grade 1 Braille?
Grade 1 braille is where each dot stands for one letter. So, every letter of the printed alphabet has its own braille symbol. This takes up a lot of space. That’s why it’s not used for ADA signs.
What is Grade 2 Braille?
Grade 2 is abbreviated braille. It uses shortcuts and contractions to save space. Certain letters get dropped and some common words have their own single symbols. This compression allows the same information to take up much less room. That’s why ADA goes with Grade 2-it’s much more compact for signs.
What is Grade 3 Braille?
Grade 3 braille takes shortcuts even further than Grade 2. It’s meant for quick note-taking or personal letters. The abbreviations are too complex for public signs, so they are unsuitable for ADA signage.
What Other Requirements Are There?
To comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act, braille has to directly match up with the words on the sign-one line of braille below each printed line. It should be domed or rounded for easy tactile reading.
There are specifications for dot height and the space between characters, as well as keeping braille and words a certain distance from the edges of the sign.
- Braille is required on certain ADA sign types like restrooms
- Grade 2 (contracted) braille is used to save space and improve readability
- Braille dots must be domed or raised and easily felt by touch
- Braille should be positioned directly below the text it corresponds to
- There are requirements for braille dot height, spacing, and distance from sign edges
- Braille signs must use easy-to-read fonts with good visual contrast
- ADA braille signs should be installed at a consistent and accessible height
- Non-compliant braille signage risks penalties and legal action
What is Braille?
Braille is a writing system made up of patterns of raised dots. Blind people and those with vision issues can read the patterns by touching them with their fingertips. It allows them to interpret letters, words, punctuation, numbers, music notes-all kinds of important information. Braille is a brilliant system that allows the visually impaired to read independently.
What’s the History of Braille?
Braille was invented in 1824 by a Frenchman called Louis Braille. He was blind from a young age. Louis built the system based on a military code of raised dots used by soldiers to share messages at night. He turned it into an entire tactile alphabet-a reading and writing system for people who are blind.
At first, braille faced a lot of resistance. But eventually, it caught on around the world as an empowering tool for literacy and independence among blind people. It remains the standard for blindness to this day.
Can I Get Custom ADA Braille Signs?
Absolutely! One of the great things about ADA signage is that we can customize it to match your needs and aesthetic. As long as the core ADA braille requirements are met, there’s lots of room for creativity.
Custom ADA signs allow you to make practical braille signage blend seamlessly into any environment. They showcase your brand while discreetly providing accessibility.
Order Your ADA-Compliant Braille Signs
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Atlanta Marquis Shaped Custom ADA Sign
