VisualHaptic Door Handle by vinicius carvalho from brazil

The VisualHaptic Door Handle was though as a integrated way to help poor vision or blind users to get around doors more easily and safely.

Its features make it perfect for the business/commercial environments, where the weather, wear and frequency of use are much more intense than that of a household. The handle is an element obligatory in the process of crossing doors between one ambient and another, so why not put the accessibility and communication aspects right onto it? Made out of anodized titanium, the colored plate presents both visual and tactile (also called haptic) feedback to the user. Different colors and relief patterns can be arranged in codes, with predeterminated meanings (i.e. green plates stand for kitchens, blue ones for man's toilet and three vertical bass relief dots mark the exit. The plates are fixed in place with a removable snap system, so they can be changed even after installed. To prevent vandalizing, the snap is very hard, and can only be undone with the propper tool.

The titanium was choosen for its corrosion resistance and ease of coloring through anodizing, at the same time it does not need dyes, which wear out with time. The handle itself is made of polished and stain varnished stainless steel, making it very weather and wear resistant, ensuring a long life cycle to the product and assuring the aesthetics.

Handles and plates can be sold separately, facilitating the system installation in different buildings.