There are a number of different aids that can be used within signage and wayfinding systems to help those who have visual, hearing or mobility impairments. Through presentations from designers working in the signage field, we will see practical examples and learn how good design is also accessible design.

 

 

 

Through the development of their new Wayfinding Standard, Metrolinx aimed to push beyond complying with AODA to create an approach that regarded all customer equitably. This approach has had success but also presented a challenges in implementation around alignment with code, as well as existing organizational practice. This presentation will explore how the team engaged with people with disabilities to guide their design work and examine some of the innovations, as well as lessons learned, that came from this extensive, 4+ year design development process.

 

Toban leads the Metrolinx wayfinding team, who are overseeing the ongoing development and delivery of a harmonized system for transit wayfinding across the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area. Prior to joining Metrolinx, Toban led the implementation of customer service initiatives at several international sporting events including two Olympic and Paralympic Games. Supported by colleagues in Universal Design, the Wayfinding team strives to create meaningful change for transit users with accessible needs through continuous interrogation of existing practice and pushing the design of the wayfinding system beyond code to consider the lived experience of people with disabilities.

 

 

How multisensory maps can serve all visitors to better understand spaces and to plan their journey through facilities? presented by Aurelia Fleury.
When visitors find at the beginning of their journey a 3D model and inclusive map of the facility they can have: a quick look, a tactile discovery or an audio description, in other words, the layer they need to access informations and have a mental image of the place they enter. Orienting people in Museum and complex spaces is part of Tactile Studio challenge since 10 years, through co-design with blind users, testing and prototyping, tailor made inclusive sensory wayfinding has come true. This presentation will come through 3 examples of inclusive solutions : a static 3D model of the Mankind Museum, an interactive 3D model to explore the complex of La Villette a cultural space in France (map system, which incorporates Braille, embossed elements and audio messages) and an inclusive indoor GPS. Each tailor made product are accessible to several categories of users and acknowledges the diversity of the population in the meantime. Join the movement! With the lens of accessible experiences for blind users, attendees will be able to discuss and list new strategies to implement space representation. Focusing on 3 examples of inclusive map participant will be able to compare solutions and select the most adapted one to a dedicated project.

 

Aurelia is an expert in sensory accessibility and ergonomics. She has worked for more than 10 years in the fields of culture and museums, advocating the universal design approach to make exhibitions and programs welcoming for all. She played a key role in the ManKind Museum in Paris, first as accessibility manager in the renovation project, then as program coordinator for visitors. In 2017, she accepts a new challenge: to implement Tactile Studio, an inclusive design agency in North America. Since then she has been developing projects with national museums to increase the accessibility of their exhibitions (National Gallery of Canada, Canadian Museum of History, Royal Ontario Museum, Canada agriculture and food museum). She also gives academic lectures in various master's programs in museology.