If any place could be considered a melting pot of diversity, it’s a college campus. Some students at colleges and universities have various physical or mental challenges, whether they’re in wheelchairs, are visually-impaired, or have been diagnosed with a neurological disability. Enter the Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA). The key to linking effective college and university campus wayfinding and ADA design is to think of ADA requirements as lending an extra measure of user-friendliness to all students, staff, and visitors.

Consistency

ADA-compliant campus signage must feature consistency, in the sense that students and visitors to the campus will find helpful wayfinding signage at all relevant points. The goal of wayfinding signage is to help people get where they need to go, so from the time people arrive on campus, they need signs that direct them. With ADA-compliant signs, wayfinding signage systems are more universally helpful for all people who use the campus. At every point where people need to make a decision about which way to turn, there should be be signage to help them. Finding a middle ground is important, though, since a campus that’s overwhelmed with signs becomes a confusing place indeed.

Standardization and Flexibility

On a college campus, both standardization and flexibility are important aspects of ADA-compliant signage. Standardization, on one hand, gives campus signage a cohesive look and feel, which students, visitors and staff will recognize as landmarks that help with wayfinding. Flexibility, on the other hand, is vital, since a one-size-fits-all or a one-style-fits-all signage solution just won’t work to cover all the variables involved in ADA-compliant campus wayfinding. Signage which denotes entry and exit to buildings will need to be differently designed and integrated into the campus wayfinding system than signage that lets visitors, students and staff know where to park.

Knowledge

The key to effective, ADA-compliant signage for a campus is knowledge of ADA regulations. Then wayfinding solutions can be designed with these regulations in mind, while leaving room for the unique look and feel of the given college or university. The goal of ADA-compliant signage should be ensuring that all people who come to the campus are able to find their way around, via accessible and intuitively designed landmarks and signs, without stress or anxiety, even if it’s their first visit. In this way, signage solutions designed for wayfinding perform the role for which they were intended and are accessible to the greatest number of people.

ADA-compliant signage for campus wayfinding systems is about inclusiveness. In doing its best to ensure that all people feel comfortable on campus and are able to find their way around, the educational institution is sending a message that it values each person and wishes to help in whatever way he or she might require. That’s an important message for facilities to convey via signage and wayfinding systems, and it’s a means by which institutions of higher learning can help everyone feel welcome and at home.