01/10/2024
Yesterday I attended a meeting to discuss new branding for a business park near where I live. There was a lively discussion about how to incorporate the mission and unique qualities of the business park into a new name and tagline. I commented about the importance of accessibility for all signage- both for signs identifying the businesses at parking lot entrances as well as wayfinding signs throughout the business park. I described the images below to illustrate why simply following ADA regulations doesn’t guarantee optimal accessibility has been achieved.
I took these images while waiting for an appointment for my daughter in the Imaging department of a local
medical clinic. Due to the low contrast of the wall versus the letters and the small size of the letters there were constantly patients who were lost, confused and frustrated about where to check in. I could also sense the frustration of the registration staff. I’ve been to this lobby several times and each time I go I have to determine the correct check in location all over again. If the contrast and letter size were designed with accessibility in mind, it would provide the information people need to move efficiently through the process and allow them to focus on healing, rather than the stress involved with wayfinding.
The branding focus group agreed that this is important to consider. I’m excited to discuss it further with the business park leadership when the time comes to design the new signage.
ID: Images of signage found in a medical clinic. The first image is of a pale yellow back wall with small, silver raised letters identifying “Lab Services” and “Imaging”. The second image is another pale yellow back wLl with small, silver raised letters identifying “Urgent Care”. The images are taken from the same check-in lobby.
