INTRODUCTION
We are all physically disabled ( 1) at some time in our lives. A child, a person with a broken leg, a parent with a pram, an elderly person, etc. are all disabled in one way or another. Those who remain healthy and able-bodied all their lives are ew. As ar as the built-up environment is concerned, it is important that it should be barrierree and adapted to ul!ll the needs o all people e"ually. As a matter o act, the needs o the disabled coincide with the needs o the ma#ority, and all people are at ease with them. As such, planning or the ma#ority implies planning or people with varying abilities and disabilities. disabilities.
$igns •
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$igns are used to convey inormation in pictorial orm. This has many advantages over written instructions. instructions. %eople who talk di&erent languages can understand the same common signs. 'nstructions or some tasks can be clearer when given as drawings.
$igns $ymbols •
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$igns symbols are commonly used in everyday situations. situations. oadsigns, inormation, engineering symbols, *ow charts and circuit diagrams are types o drawings that you will need to know about or your e+ams.
$igns •
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There are di&erent amilies o signs. These are are o
mandatory signs
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prohibition signs
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warning signs
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saety signs
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danger signs
$igns - andatory signs •
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These signs are blue in colour. They give a positive instruction. 'n other words they tell you what to do rather than what not to do.
$igns - %rohibition signs
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These signs are circular with a line across the circle.
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They are red in colour.
$igns - Warning signs •
These signs are yellow.
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They are normally triangular but can be other shapes.
$igns - $aety $igns •
These signs tell people o sae places to go or sae conditions.
$igns - anger signs •
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These signs warn people o dangerous situations. /ommonly ound on roadsigns and the back o long vehicles.
$igns •
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There are also general inormation signs used or a number o di&erent purposes. $ome common signs are shown over the ne+t ew slides.
$igns 0 itemark •
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The itemark is used to tell consumers that the products they buy are saety tested to 2$' standards. All products sold must carry this itemark to be legally sold.
$igns 0 isabled •
This is used to show disabled access.
$igns - male emale •
These signs are used commonly to distinguish the male and emale toilets.
I. URBAN DESIGN CONSIDERATIONS 2. SIGNAGE
1. PROBLEM IDENTIFICATION
3rientation di4culties resulting rom illegible directional signs, street names and numbering and5or the lack o them. %edestrian accidents due to badly positioned signs. 6a7ards due to lack o warning and tra4c signals. 8on-identi!cation o access routes and accessible acilities.
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2. PLANNING PRINCIPLE
To acilitate orientation mainly or the disabled. 3. DESIGN CONSIDERATIONS
9.1 :eneral $ignage include direction signs, signs o locality, street names and numbering, inormation signs, etc. All types o signs should be visible, clear, simple, easy to read and understand, and properly lit at night. 'n general, signs should not be placed behind glass because o possible re*ection. $ignage placed on the pedestrian path o travel are considered obstructions; thus, they should be detectable (see 3bstructions). 9.< 'nternational symbol o accessibility
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Accessible spaces and acilities should be identi!ed by the international symbol o accessiblity (!g. 1). The symbol is composed o a wheelchair !gure with either a s"uare background or a s"uare border (!g. <). /ontrasting colours should be used to di&erentiate the !gure rom the background. The commonly employed colours are white or the !gure and blue or the background. The wheelchair !gure should always be seen rom drawn acing right.
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=or completely accessible buildings, it is enough to have one e+planatory sign at the entrance. 9.9 irection signs :raphic or written directions should be used to indicate clearly the type and location o the available acility (!g. 9). irectional signs need not be e+cessive in number, but they should be placed at main entrances and doors and in places where changes in direction or level occur. 9.> $treet names =i+ed signs indicating street names should be placed at a ma+imum height o <.?@ m (!g.
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>). 9.? 6ouse numbers =i+ed signs indicating house numbers should be placed at a ma+imum height o <.@@ m (!g. >). 9. aps and inormation panels aps and inormation panels at building entrances, along roads, and on public buildings should be placed at a height between @.B@ m and 1.C@ m (!g. ?). 9.D 'nstallation $igns can be wall-mounted, suspended or pole-mounted.
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(a) Wall-ounted signs Wall-mounted signs, such as those indicating room numbers, should be placed with the centre line at a height between 1.>@ m and 1.@m rom the !nished *oor level. (b) 3verhanging signs 3verhanging signs should allow a minimum clearance o <.@@ m (see 3bstructions). (c)%ole-ounted signs (see 3bstructions) 9.C $hape o signboards 'normation signboards should be rectangular. Warning signboards should be
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triangular. 'nterdictory signboards should be circular. 9.B /olour The colour o signs should contrast with the surrounding surace so as to be clearly distinguishable. The commonly used colours are white, black, yellow, red, blue and green. The colour combinations red5green and yellow5blue should not be used in order to avoid conusing colour- blind persons. 9.1@ $urace The sign surace should be processed to prevent glare. Engraved te+ts should be avoided unless they are coloured. elie prints are advisable. ey plans, orientation signs and push buttons in lits must have a te+t in 2raille or in relie. (1) 9.11 Fettering The si7e o letters should be in proportion to the reading distance (!g. ). /haracter width-to-height ratio should be between 9? and 11 and the character stroke width-toheight ratio should be between 1? and 11@ (!g. D).
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The letters and signs should preerably be raised at least 1 mm rom the background, to enable sightless people to read the inormation using the tips o their !ngers. The smallest letter type should not be less than 1? mm. 8ormal spacing between words and letters should be used. >. EG'$T'8: /38$TH/T'38$ The international symbol o accessibility should be added to mark accessible spaces and acilities. irectional signs should be added to indicate clearly the location and unction o accessible spaces and acilities. $igns that do not comply with the above design re"uirements should be modi!ed or replaced.
8otes (1) 8ot all sightless persons are amiliar with 2raille.
Interaction design and traffic signs[edit] When designing traffic signs it is recommended to follow the four basic steps of interaction design: Identifying needs and establishing user
requirements, developing alternative designs, building interactive versions, evaluating the designs.[2]
Identifying needs and establishing requirements [edit] rivers, cyclists, pedestrians and other types of pedestrians are the users that will be interacting with traffic signs. !hese users are using the roadways for transportation purposes and must receive information about the roadways and their destinations as they are traveling.[2]
eveloping alternative designs [edit] !his tas" is divided into two categories: conceptual design and physical design. #onceptual design will be the discussion of alternative traffic signs and ways of conveying information to the users. $hysical design will b e the discussion of what physical aspects %i.e. colour, shape, orientation& will be on the sign to convey the messages identified during the conceptual design. [2]
'uilding interactive versions [edit] !his tas" is the actual buildin g of traffic signs. !hese can be prototypes of a very low or very high fidelity.[2]
(valuating designs [edit] !his tas" is the testing of the prototypes and actual signs in order to determine if they convey the desired message in the desired time by the appropriate users. !his will let the users "now the usability of their signs.[2]
Design principles[edit] !raffic sign comprehension and understandability are higher when the signs comply with ergonomic principles. It is recommended to follow the below
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principles in order to increase driver comprehension and understandability.
*patial compatibility [edit] !he matching between the physical symbols on a sign with the literal directions+information the sign is trying to convey. !he physical arrangement in space, relative to the position of information and directions.•
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pplication: /aving a regulatory sign that informs a driver they must turn right, have an image of an arrow that curves to the right.
#onceptual compatibility[edit] !he correct association between the
physical symbols on a sign and the information the sign is trying to convey. 0ood conceptual compatibility means that a driver will "now the meaning of a symbol without having to reflect and interpret its meaning.[)] •
pplication: /aving an information sign that represents an airport, have an image of an airplane.
$hysical representation [edit] !he similarity between the information that is being represented and the actual content on a sign. 0ood physical representation means that a driver will e1perience what is shown on a sign.[)] •
pplication: /aving a warning sign that means to watch for pedestrians have an image a person.
requency[edit] !he frequency that which a sign appears will determine how familiar it is to drivers. 0ood frequency means that the sign is used often and that the meaning of its
contents is well "nown.[)] •
pplication: /aving a regulatory sign that informs drivers of the current speed limit of the roadway be frequently placed along every road.
*tandardi3ation[e dit] !he e1tent to which any sign can be grouped into a type of sign with similar or equal shape, colour and orientation. 0ood standardi3ation m eans that all signs of the same type have the same template of shape, colour and orientation. Ideally standardi3ation should be across cities, regions and countries.[4] •
pplication: /aving all warning signs have a diamond shape with a blac" border and a yellow bac"ground.
*ingular functionality[edi t]
!he representation of only a single meaning for a single sign. 0ood singular functionality means that a sign that gives information should not also imply a regulatory meaning or another piece of related information.[4] •
pplication: /aving an information sign that signifies the beginning of a school 3one should not also be meant to imply that the speed limit in this area is reduced.
5isibility[edit ] !he e1tent to which any sign can be seen. It should be visible by drivers of all age groups from an appropriate distance that will allow the driver to react to the signs contents.5isibilit y also means that the sign has enough contrast
with the bac"ground to be conspicuous and that the contents on the sign have enough contrast with the bac"ground of the sign to be conspicuous.[6] •
pplication: /aving a white regulatory sign have a blac" border with a blac" symbol and a red highlight. *olar7 powered smart street signs that light up for easy reading at night, can add to readability.-
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