Braille & Tactile Signage: An Accessibility Guide
Braille and tactile elements make signage accessible to residents with visual impairment as well as dementia. This guide covers Braille standards, tactile imagery benefits, and how multi-sensory signs support a wider range of residents.
Visual impairment and dementia frequently co-exist in care home populations. Age-related macular degeneration, glaucoma, cataracts, and diabetic retinopathy are all common among older adults, and their prevalence increases alongside dementia. Signage that relies solely on visual information excludes residents who cannot see it clearly. Braille and tactile elements add a secondary sensory channel, making signs accessible to a much wider range of residents.
Braille in Care Home Signage#
Grade 2 Braille (contracted Braille) is the standard used in the UK and Ireland for public signage. It uses contractions and abbreviations to reduce the length of text, making it faster to read by touch. Braille should be positioned below the visual text on a sign, at a height accessible to both standing and seated users. The DSDC recommends including Braille on all room identification signs, particularly toilets, bathrooms, and communal rooms.
Key considerations for Braille signage in care homes:
- Use Grade 2 (contracted) Braille as standard
- Position Braille below the visual text, not overlapping imagery
- Ensure Braille dots are raised to the correct height (approximately 0.5mm above the surface)
- Maintain consistent Braille placement across all signs in the building
- Braille is most useful for residents who learned to read Braille before or during early visual impairment
- Not all visually impaired residents read Braille -- tactile elements serve a broader population
Tactile Imagery: Beyond Braille#
While Braille serves those who can read it, tactile imagery benefits a much larger group. Raised 3D images -- a toilet, a shower, a bed -- can be identified by touch by anyone, regardless of whether they read Braille. Our signs use textured 3D printing on 5mm solid white acrylic to create images that are both visually striking and physically tactile. The texture provides a sensory cue that reinforces the visual message, creating a multi-sensory experience that supports comprehension even when vision is severely impaired.
Pro Tip
Encourage care staff to guide residents to touch the signs when first introduced. Residents who discover that signs have a tactile dimension will begin to use touch as a secondary identification method, extending the useful life of the signage as their visual abilities decline.
Legal and Regulatory Context#
The Equality Act 2010 requires service providers to make reasonable adjustments for disabled people. In a care home context, providing tactile and Braille signage is widely considered a reasonable adjustment. Regulatory bodies including the CQC assess the accessibility of the care environment as part of their inspection framework. Signs that include Braille and tactile elements demonstrate a proactive approach to accessibility that inspectors view favourably.
Adding Braille and tactile elements to your signage is not only good practice -- it is a visible demonstration of your care home's commitment to accessibility that families, residents, and inspectors can immediately see and appreciate.
Recommended Products
All our DSDC 1A-accredited signs are available with optional Braille and tactile elements. The textured 3D print on 5mm solid white acrylic provides inherent tactile properties, and Grade 2 Braille can be added to any sign in the range.
Braille and tactile signage transforms a visual-only wayfinding system into a multi-sensory one. For care homes serving residents with both dementia and visual impairment -- which is the majority -- it is not an optional extra but a fundamental component of accessible design.
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