Tactile signs

The government has developed a new implementation strategy for disability policy that extends from 2011 to 2016. A key part of the new strategy is that the goals will be monitored and that the effect of the interventions must be measurable in a good way.

The next few years will in all probability the pressure on, inter alia, Swedish companies, property owners, agencies, departments, municipalities and counties to rectify easily remedied obstacles to increase significantly.

In the Planning & Building Act 1987: 10 Chapter 17 § 21 (2001: 146) you can read what applies:

"In buildings containing premises to which the public has access and in public places should be easily eliminated obstacles to spaces, and the accessibility and usability for people with reduced mobility or ability to orientate be eliminated to the extent arising from regulations issued under this Act."

The Board has based this law designed a series of regulations and general advices on how to go about eliminating easily remedied obstacles (See National Board of Housing, BFS 2003: 19 HIN1).

How does it work with tactile signage or available orientation?

Is availability secured only by making signs tactile? Unfortunately, the answer to this question, no!

We look at orientation as a whole that will work well for everyone. We use our proven analytical and working together with our extensive experience to deliver such a thoughtful guidance as possible. Of course, we deliver tactile signage in Braille where it is necessary, but a well-functioning wayfinding and orientation is primarily about clarity and also to analyze the need and usefulness of a route marker, paint streaks, tactile marker boards, talking billboards and general lighting.

We have for many years delivered signs with tactile text and Braille, especially in the US and the UK market where legal requirements have long been more extensive than in Sweden. We have thus built up extensive experience, both in terms of a special and highly efficient production technology but also about how best to use this type of signage in different environments. No business is ever the same, but available orientation systems need to be adapted to each business. We simply see that the right information at the right place for everyone to find.

Can we make available orientation stylish and appealing while working for the disabled or visually impaired? Must all signs look boring and monotonous regardless of the environment? The answer to this question is no!

We can help to manage a corporate ID or customize signs to a specific architecture through good design on the guidance we provide. We can help with adapting eg billboard design so that the function becomes available. A good design is also one of the keys to a sustainable society. Good design simply live longer.