Adobe Illustrator doesn’t understand the rules of Braille; such as adding the numeral Braille sign before some text to convert words to numbers; and back again to text; so be careful where you buy your signs from.


Because of the size of tactile text and the bulk of Braille, you


have to design the signs in a completely different way. Vinyl signs can be shrunk to fit the available space but you can’t do that with tactile and Braille signage, so the proposed text needs to be agreed before you can size the signs and a lot more design time is needed.


Architectural Symbols & Signs provides accessible way finding solutions including Makaton, tactile and moon signage used here.


particularly suitable for those who lose their sight later in life, or for people who may have a less keen sense of touch. Whereas Braille is made up of patterns of dots, Moon uses lines


Each cell of Braille can have up to six raised dots. Clear signage well located


Try and ensure you have good colour contrast between the base of the sign and the door or wall where it will be located, and good colour contrast between the text and the base of the sign. Also ensure both the base and the letters are made from matt materials that aren’t reflective. Clear concise signage benefits everybody, not just people who have some form of visual impairment. Try and develop a consistency of location for the signs.


This is especially important for Braille readers; if intended users don’t know where to locate them, then they aren’t very useful. This is why we designed Braille finger push plate for doors at Architectural Symbols & Signs. The heights of the signs are important, 1400mm - 1700mm


(55 - 67 inches) from the ground is a height that is often referred to; although anything that is located above 1200mm (47 inches) isn’t much use for a wheelchair user. When designing directories ensure that all the messages/


locations that are pointing to the left are dressed to the left after a suitable ISO arrow, and all the messages that are pointing to the right are dressed to the right in front of a suitable ISO arrow. We have all been in public buildings and stood confused in front of directories that have small triangles as arrows.


Moon signage


Another form of communication altogether that most people haven’t heard of, Moon allows people who are blind or partially sighted to read by touch. It is a code of raised shapes and takes its name from its blind English inventor, Dr William Moon. As the characters are fairly large and more than half the letters bear a strong resemblance to the print equivalent, Moon has been found


Clear directions and suitable ISO arrows avoid confusion. ISSUE 126 JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2011 Sign Update 25


and curves, similar to print, to create nine basic shapes. Rotating or reflecting these shapes in different ways creates the 26 letters of the alphabet. Adding a few dots for punctuation marks and a numeral sign completes Grade 1 Moon, which can be used to provide a tactile version of any text. When Dr Moon invented his system in 1845, Braille had been invented 16 years before but had not reached this country from France, and Moon was well established by the time Braille was taken up. Moon has remained an indispensable alternative ever since including use within RNIB Schools.


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