Approximately 1.3 billion people around the globe live with a vision impairment of some sort, according to the World Health Organisation. Well-considered design can help, and in this article, we list six tips for designers and architects to consider. 

1. Creating boundaries in outdoor spaces

Shared spaces outside, such as playgrounds and garden spaces, need to be demarcated with some sort of boundary fencing. Boundaries which are painted with contrasting colours are more visible. A fence should be about waist-high for an adult, so that the visually impaired can trail their hand along the boundary. If it’s too low, it can become a tripping hazard. However, bear in mind that guide dogs are not trained to react to colour or texture contrasts. Rather, they react to physical boundaries such as curbs and barriers.

2. Glazing and doorways

Indoors and out, clear glass in doorways and windows go unnoticed by anyone with low vision, making them a potential hazard. It can help to add stickers, decal or other treatments to glazing. Meanwhile, strong colour contrast on the flooring near doorways and on door frames both help to aid navigation.

3. Internal lighting

Indoors, lighting should be bright and as close in hue to natural sunlight as possible. Floor lighting can act as a guide. Consider glare-free lighting options, and surfaces (of tables, desktops, kitchen units and such like) should not be reflective, as they too can create glare.

4. Wayfinding

Signage should be big and in contrasting colours, characters or images. And signage should be illuminated by high-contrast lighting. Visual signs can double as or be complemented by tactile signage and maps, with either Braille or raised and indented signs.

5. Flooring colour and material

Indoors, a change in the texture of the flooring can indicate doorways or openings to seating areas. That could be going from tile or marble to carpet or floorboards – changes that can be picked up by the tip of a cane. But contrasting patterns of dark and light floor tiles cause problems for people with low vision. A pattern like a checkerboard can be misinterpreted as a change in floor heights, making the space very difficult to navigate.

6. Colours that contrast

In general, avoid making everything the same shade. This is even true in toilets and bathrooms. White bathroom suites are hard to spot against white or pale walls. Better to use contrasting colours so that toilet, basin and paper towel locations stand out. So either go for dark walls and white units, or what about dark or bright units with pale walls?