ADA and Digital Signage: Ways that People with Visual Impairments Navigate Buildings
In our first blog in this series, we reviewed the key Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and how to ensure ADA compliance with digital signage. We shared how our advisory services guide you through the maze of information for an effortless turnkey digital signage experience that’s ADA-accessible.
When in doubt, go straight to the source
During a product roadmap planning session, we found ourselves asking which emerging technologies would be most preferred by users with visual impairments. We wanted to hear from the experts, so we met with Charles Acheson and Dan Burke from the Colorado Center for the Blind. We sought to understand how they teach their students to navigate spaces and which technologies they use.
What we learned is fascinating and somewhat surprising.
It turns out that we were asking the wrong question.
We asked which technologies people with visual impairments use now and plan to use in the future to navigate around public buildings and spaces. It turns out that the answer is both simpler and more complex.
It’s been nearly 35 years since the ADA was first signed into law. The technology available to serve people with visual disabilities has evolved tremendously in that time as has mobile, digital and AI technology more generally. With the rise of a digital-first world and ADA-compliant websites, a mobile device makes most topics and information more accessible to this key community.
Also, the community of people with visual impairments is diverse—representing a range of vision-related conditions. Most blind people have some level of vision, but what they can see differs from person to person. Some may only see light. Others may see blurry shapes, figures, or colors. People with total blindness cannot see anything, but it is a misconception that they only see black or darkness according to Medical News Today.
Orientation and mobility for the blind
Our friends at the Colorado Center for the Blind (CCB) shared that there are a variety of ways that they navigate their world. Technology is more widely available but isn’t always reliable. For example, when using mobile technology to navigate a large public space like an airport is risky. Mobile reception can fail and leave people stranded midway through their journey to a gate. Getting help in that example can be stressful and daunting. Apps on phones provide general maps but usually for outdoor, local and regional navigation but are not useful for in-building navigation and often are inaccurate.
Instead, we learned step by step guidance in written text form readable from a website is best. While the exact nature of the text can vary, it was most helpful to receive step-by-step guidance from a front entrance to an elevator or other turn-by-turn instructions. Getting those instructions pre-loaded to a mobile device before a visit was preferred over the stress of ad hoc navigation upon entering buildings. QR codes on digital signage could be useful, but without an industry-wide standard of QR code provision and on-screen location – it can be difficult to know that’s an option.
As the Perkins School for the Blind best summarized, “navigating the world looks different for people with disabilities. Orientation and mobility training” is essential. In accessible maps and way finding tools for low vision, experts at the Perkins school masterfully summarize many techniques that may be used to navigate public spaces.
Audio technologies, blindness and public spaces
We further learned that audio technologies on digital wayfinding signage had a downside. In already loud environments, one more source of sound can be distracting for blind users. Some people prefer to wear an earpiece in one ear and listen for ambient sounds like voices, traffic and elevator “dings” in their other ear. So, approaching an information kiosk or display with loud auditory cues can cause disorientation or sound overload.
As we were learning from Dan from the CCB he used his mobile phone to look up something online. His device had sound on, but at a speed of delivery that would leave most sighted people scratching their heads. Yet Dan smiled in understanding about the item he had looked up. The lesson we picked up is that whatever sound tools we might design, the volume and speed may be outside of the more personalized settings preferred by the user.
The short story is that special apps or devices requiring sound can interfere with blind users’ audio devices. As well, it may mask more helpful sounds, such as a welcoming voice from a reception desk or security guard. Since we also learned that most pre-plan their visits to public spaces to reduce stress, confusion, and disorientation—audio may not be the best option for communications with people who have vision impairments.
The low-tech solution that works best
Charles and Dan indicated that the preference for most blind users is to have businesses host a website page with information on physical access to their location, including step-by-step navigation from building entrances. That enables screen reading technology to help users prepare ahead of time. The ability to load and access instructions via an ear device or mobile phone made the experience less stressful and safer. In short, information posted to building and tenant websites can be key for these amazing people who navigate busy spaces with forethought, mobile devices, and their own version of sound readers.
When onsite if advance planning isn’t possible, the Center trains most students to listen for a reception desk or the sounds of an elevator. Then, they counsel students to carefully navigate to those locations for personal assistance, or the braille indicators within elevators for the floor they intend to visit.
We hope you find this information helpful. We’re deeply grateful to Charles and Dan at the Colorado Center for the Blind. If you’re looking for advice on accessible directions to your building, we encourage you to reach out to your local organization for the blind. The spirit of collaboration was truly inspiring.
