How do blind or partially sighted people know they are reaching the last step on a flight of stairs?

Trying to determine which is the last step on a flight of stairs can be very awkward for people with visual impairments; especially in a busy environment like an office or shopping centre or a fire exit in an emergency situation. That is why we developed our "tactile hand-rail step indicators", and because we produce them in metal, they can be formed to fit over round, as well as flat, handrails.

Do Braille signs fall apart?

Yes, unfortunately most of the plastic Braille signs supplied by other companies do...

...this is because they drill holes in the base of their plastic signs and then attempt to glue small acrylic balls into them. Unfortunately this doesn't work; most either fall out by themselves or are easy to vandalize and pick out using just your nails - don't take our word for it, buy one and try it yourself - approximately 25% of our business is the manufacture of Braille and Tactile Signs that are needed to replace signs that were originally made by other companies!

We have a unique way of producing Braille into metals or plastics that doesn't use any seperate materials for the Braille: http://www.as-s.co.uk/braille-signs-public-toilets.htm

Why do Tactile and Braille Signs have to be so unattractive?

They don't!

We believe we are the only company in the world that can produce bespoke Tactile and Braille Signage in metal - Polished or Brushed stainless steel, Brass or Bronze. Our signs are often specified to be used in design-led buildings, listed buildings, or buildings of a significant architectural interest.