Creating navigable spaces

It is accepted that the introduction of colour and contrast into an interior design can significantly improve a visually impaired person’s way-finding ability and create accessible environments. Importantly, it is possible for designers, architects and facilities managers to use a wide range of colour schemes to create inclusive environments for the visually impaired that meet regulations whilst retaining aesthetic appeal for fully sighted people.

 Navigation – How do people move through a space?

Assimilating the size and shape of a space for the visually impaired is less of a sub-conscious, intuitive process than it is for sighted people. It is quite usual to hesitate or stop and to use their residual vision to look for the visual clues needed for them to move through the environment.

The visually impaired will initially scan the upper wall and ceiling - the least cluttered areas of a room - to gather information on its dimensions. A colour differentiation between these two surfaces can assist the visually impaired in assessing the size and shape of a space.

Having understood the dimensions of an interior, the large majority of visually impaired people share striking commonalities in using their residual vision to move around unfamiliar surroundings. They obtain information by carrying out a continual scan of the scene in front of them, looking downward and not more than two metres ahead. They tend not to concentrate their view directly on particular elements such as the skirting board or the wall. Instead, visually impaired people continuously search for and compare any colour contrast between large areas. 

Critical surface areas

Understanding the critical surfaces within a space can help us achieve an environment through which a person can easily navigate. There are four critical surface areas, ceilings, walls, doors & floors and any adjacent critical surface should be made to contrast visually. Ceilings should contrast tonally to distinguish them from the walls, doors should be contrasted from the walls and the floors should also contrast with the walls, again to create a distinction.

Skirting boards can be the same colour and tone as the walls, so that there is a clear junction between the walls and the floor and the size and therefore the shape of a space can be more easily identified.

Critical surfaces are the most important elements in assisting somebody who is visually impaired in order to gather information and understand a space in terms of its dimensions, size and critical entrance and exit points. Of course in a particularly busy or convoluted environment, which may include many obstacles, additional design features beyond colour differentiation may be necessary.  
 
Potential obstacles

There are key items in any building that, because of their critical function, require specific colour treatment. The smaller the surface or item, the greater the tonal colour difference should be:

Doors & door furniture Flooring
Stair nosing
Switches & controls
Handrails
Furniture
Toilet facilities
Protruding items of furniture
Skirting