If you are involved in the architecture, interior design or environmental graphics industry, chances are you’ve been bombarded with notifications about the looming March 15 deadline for complying with the current ADA Guidelines. It is important to make a note of this deadline, but today, we’d like to expand the ADA Guideline conversation and talk about self-illuminating egress and emergency path and exit solutions for architectural environments.

Check out ASI’s latest InfoSeries profile, “Regulatory Signs and Messages for Architectural Environments,” and read about self-illuminating egress and emergency path and exit solutions as well as regulatory signs such as EMTALA and safety signs.

With all credit for photography and written content to Clarion Safety Systems, we respectful submit the following explanation of why self-illuminating safety signs and messaging is important for built environments:

“Escape plan signs are meant to be posted in key locations…next to elevators, near stairs, outside and inside large assembly areas, as well as smaller venues, such as on the inside of hotel guestroom doors. It should be noted that a building’s escape plan signs are meant to work in tandem with the buildings egress path marking and safety sign systems so that hesitation is eliminated as much as possible along the escape path. The visual cues provided by self-illuminating signs and marking strips on steps and handrails markings, along with the building’s floor identification, fire extinguisher, fire hose, AED and safety equipment location signs will help to delineate the evacuation route in dark conditions.”

In the end, it’s all about ensuring interior signage in built environments gives people the best information and longest time-frame — no matter how harsh the emergency conditions — to make a safe escape.