Handicapped Parking Signs – Development of the ADA Symbol

The symbol that the ADA uses to show areas that are accessible to persons with disabilities is called the International Symbol for Accessibility (ISA). In 1969, a competition was held by the International Commission on Technology and Accessibility (ICTA) to find the best symbol to use to show areas with handicapped access. In the result of the competition, a woman named Susanne Kofoed won. Her design is similar to the design used today; the ICTA used hers as the base to create the one that is now seen so universally over the world. Kofoed’s design was similar to today’s design in that it depicted a person sitting in a wheelchair.

Current ADA Symbol for Handicapped Parking Sign

One of the reasons why her design was not put into production immediately though, was the fact that the person in her design was missing a head. It is unknown why Kofoed chose to create her model in such a way; some believe that she was trying to keep the sign on equal ground between male and female in order to prevent tension. However, once the ICTA chose her design, they made a few seemingly necessary modifications, including giving the new ISA a head. Given the fact that the person in the symbol is a stick figure, there has been no fight about what gender the image is. The next step for the ICTA was coloring; they needed something that would catch the eyes of others. It turns out that a specific color was never chosen for the entire sign. The symbol of the person in the wheelchair is generally white, though that is subject to change sometimes, because the white stands out so well when you look at it. The background that the symbol is placed on is constantly changed. The general thought is that it should be placed on a blue background, but the specific type of blue has also not been decided. Now the blue that is frequently used is called PMS 293C, a form of dark blue that the white stands out very well on. In 1990, the USA created the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), and they began to use the ISA as well. This symbol has become almost universally recognized as the symbol for accessibility, and essentially every country that makes areas accessible to those with disabilities use this sign.

Though everything seems to be working with the symbol at the moment, there is a possibility that a time will come for a change. One of the reasons for this is because people who have disabilities but do not use wheelchairs have begun to be left out of using the parking spaces. People have begun to believe that being in a wheelchair is the only way to show one’s disabilities. This poses as a huge problem for those who have disabilities in other parts of their body such as the arms, or even the heart. It is for this reason that the symbol may soon have to be changed. The original idea and its modified version have been great, though it has become more essential over the last decade that the sign will soon need to be changed for the sake of all persons with disabilities, especially those without wheelchairs.

To many, the current ADA symbol is outdated. They object to the notion that the wheelchair is universally used to convey every disability. Then, to many others, the wheelchair itself, is vastly outdated. They believe that the current design suggests a degree of inactivity and disability that belies how many disabled individuals truly function at work, on the sports fields and in the community. They believe that the symbol of a person statically confined to a chair is particularly insensitive. One draft symbol (at the right) conveys how the old symbol may need to be changed.

Over the years, the wheelchair symbol has changed when used on doors and other interior signage.