Close up of a man's fingers interpreting a Direct Access braille map board for a museum. Specifically, an image of a tea cup, insinuating the location of an on-site cafe.

Tactile and Sensory Maps

Sensory Maps

Our A4 and A3 sized sensory maps give blind and partially sighted people access to information which improves spatial awareness, empowering them to engage with an environment independently.

In a post-COVID world where people are encouraged not to touch static maps or Braille signage, our paper-based sensory maps issued to visitors provide a hygienic-friendly solution for personal use.

Sensory maps can not only help visitors to identify sensory friendly spaces within your site but can be used as a guide for finding areas that are quieter and less crowded, spaces that have seating, and spaces with tactile engagement and accessible activities.

By providing our team with an existing map of your site, we will help you accommodate people with low vision to fully decipher the specifics of a site through touch rather than sight.

Sensory Maps are printed on swell paper, which has two sides – a white, slightly textured side and a smooth liner. Using our on-site tactile graphics machines, we can make outlines, symbols, and text rise off the page, allowing it to be fully accessible to people with visual impairments.

Swell paper maps are denser than regular maps in that they are not actually printed on regular paper, but are also considered the best-practice standard for providing accessible written information.

A tactile map of the grounds at Castle Drogo in Devon, England.
A photograph of the front cover of the Access Guide which Direct Access produced for Cannock Chase. The cover has a dark green colour scheme with a mixture of yellow and white text. It reads "Cannock Chase access guide. Welcome to the Access Guide for Cannock Chase". Underneath this text is the Cannock Chase logo. A photograph on the cover shows a young white woman with downs syndrome riding a bike with stabilisers joyfully. Next to her getting in close for a photo is a white male companion who is off his bike and holding it with one hand. He is also smiling happily. Behind them is a bike trail through some woods.

Access

Guides

An old blind man on a park bench listens to an audio description on his phone with his cane leaning against the bench.

Audio description

and transcription

Sign Language and

Captioned Videos

A tactile swell map recreation of the Steven G. Terrall Recreation Centre in Allen Texas with a key featuring information such as child play area, medical bay, and dining area.

Tactile and

Sensory Maps

A young caucasian male student deep in thought taps the mousepad on a laptop as he logs in to an unspecific website. Next to the laptop is a plastic cup of coffee and pieces of paper with a black ball point pen on top.

Website

Accessibility

Direct Access transparent logo.

68 Harrison Avenue,
6th Floor,
Boston,
MA 02111.

 

4600 140th Avenue North,
Suite 180,
Clearwater,
FL 33762.

Inclusive Guides

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