The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) has laid out clear rules for designing signage that enables persons with sensory disability to read and understand them correctly. ADA compliant signs in public spaces must include a pictogram, tactile text, Braille, or a combination of these to ensure that people with disability can navigate the area easily and safely.

Inclusivity matters. The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990 has become one of the most comprehensive civil rights laws that guarantees the rights of people with disabilities and protects them from discrimintation. In 2020, the ADA updated its standards for accessible design to include signage rules and requirements.

Signage companies like Metro follow this guidance for all our ADA signs. Best practices include designing signs with a high contrast ratio and non-glare finish. Easily read serif or sans serif fonts, braille, and symbols are all important elements of ADA signage, too.

Read the full article at: www.accessibility.com

Shopping malls are one of the most ubiquitous spaces of modern capitalist cities. It is calculated that in the United States alone, more than 2,000 shopping malls exist, accounting for nearly 75% of all non-automotive sales in this country.

You’d think that navigating a parking lot doesn’t require an advanced degree, right? And yet many parking areas — whether lots, decks, or garages — lack clearly legible signs, have few entrances to help people orient, and generally complicate a driver’s ability to navigate.

A study of a parking lot owned by one of the latest shopping malls in Santiago, Chile, mapped and analyzed the trajectories of about 500 people. The study concluded that despite their apparent simplicity, parking lots aren’t uncomplicated after all. These complex settings require users to — consciously or not — adopt different strategies to reach their destinations. Having a good signage package in place definitely helps to lower frustration — and endlessly circling drivers.

Read the full article at: www.scielo.br

A design-build contract is defined by a single point of contact and can offer time savings and other efficiencies, but it comes with potential drawbacks.

Source: www.thebalancesmb.com

Design-build contracting has grown in popularity over the past 10+ years. Design-build concepts can include variations like turnkey, bridging, and design-build-warranty.

Companies like Metro who use a design-build process benefit their customers because the owner works with a single source. Using a design-build approach can save time, preserve budgets, and avoid project cost overruns. These contracts also facilitate partnerships among everyone working on a project. 

We’re also happy to assume design-build duties later in the process, when our clients have already developed their overall branding and begun to develop conceptual signage ideas. We work our own magic to finesse concepts so that they meet the brand standards demanded by the signage program. 

Video displays can make financial institutions more attractive and approachable.

Source: biztechmagazine.com

More financial institutions have embraced digital signage as they recognize its effectiveness in communicating messages and enhancing their customers’ experiences. Not only can digital signage make a strong visual impact when people walk by and as soon as customers walk through the front door, it can:

• Highlight financial services via video walls
• Deliver focused, targeted messages via ATM screens
• Display real time information
• Offer a collective resource via a digital community board
• Create a welcoming environment via signage posted in lobbies
• Engage those outside — including potential customers — with front-of-building signage