SIGNAGE Usage & Abusage

SIGNAGE

Usage & Abusage

IPI, Fort Lauderdale

May 2013

What’s in a sign?

Main purpose is

communication

to

make cognitive

decisions

What’s in a sign?

(a) Information

About services and facilities:

- maps- directories- instructions

What’s in a sign?

(b) Navigation

Complex set of challenges:- Wayfinding- Arrival vs departure- Competing

distractions- Obstructions- Design constraints

What’s in a sign?

(c) Identification

- Services & facilities- Level numbers- Colour coding in

complex structures- “To shops”

What’s in a sign?

(d) Safety & Regulatory:

- Warning instructions- Rules & regulations- EXIT signs- Universally understood

History of Signage

Roman TimesRoman TimesRoman TimesRoman Times

History of Signage

1908 1908 1908 1908 –––– International Road Congress (Rome)International Road Congress (Rome)International Road Congress (Rome)International Road Congress (Rome)

History of Signage

1970197019701970’’’’s s s s –––– LED MessagesLED MessagesLED MessagesLED Messages

CCCChangeable message sign made from formed neon tubes. The three messages available were ...

• FREEWAY CLOSEDFREEWAY CLOSEDFREEWAY CLOSEDFREEWAY CLOSED

• ACCIDENT ON FREEWAYACCIDENT ON FREEWAYACCIDENT ON FREEWAYACCIDENT ON FREEWAY

• ROADWORKS ON FREEWAYROADWORKS ON FREEWAYROADWORKS ON FREEWAYROADWORKS ON FREEWAY

The sign was normally blank unless one of the previous messages was required. The sign was operated at the sign or remotely from the control room.

History of Signage

1980198019801980’’’’s s s s

The first changeable message sign – WINK O MATIC

- small 110v light globes

& large diesel engine

1990199019901990’’’’ssss

all LED changeable message sign – Precision Solar Control

- 2in block of light

- still manufactured today

History of Signage

1996199619961996

Message board with 400mm high characters, 2.4m wide for the ease of city

traffic management – positioned on median strips

2005200520052005

LEDs reduced drastically in price (50% less than a decade earlier)

And increased in quality (80% more brihgtness)

TODAYTODAYTODAYTODAY

Large permanent electronic signs automatically display information about traffic

conditions, accidents or weather conditions affecting the road

Portable trailers

The Value of Signage

Bureaucracy & The Removal of Judgement

“In streets designed to safely handle the actions of the riskiest

participants, everyone slips into riskier behaviour” Hans Monderman


According to Tom Vanderbilt (author of the book TRAFFIC – Why we drive the way we do) in one study, subjects who were shown a sign warning “Watch for falling rocks” were split equally between those who said they would look for rocks falling at the moment and speed up and those who said they would slow down and look for rocks already on the road. Perhaps signs should say WATCH FOR ALL ROCKS, EVERYWHERE…



- Less is more- Always telling people how to behave- Stop thinking/acting of own volition


Regulatory Signage

Safety or Revenue Generation?Safety or Revenue Generation?Safety or Revenue Generation?Safety or Revenue Generation?

SPEEDING fines at two of NSW’s most lucrative red-light cameras have more than halved since an investigation forced the introduction of clearer warning signs.

Regulatory Signage

Safety or Revenue Generation?Safety or Revenue Generation?Safety or Revenue Generation?Safety or Revenue Generation?

When is a sign not a “sign”?

Enforceability of SignageEnforceability of SignageEnforceability of SignageEnforceability of Signage

NOT a traffic sign due to incorrect font used!!NOT a traffic sign due to incorrect font used!!NOT a traffic sign due to incorrect font used!!NOT a traffic sign due to incorrect font used!!

Desire to minimise reliance on tests of reasonablenessDesire to minimise reliance on tests of reasonablenessDesire to minimise reliance on tests of reasonablenessDesire to minimise reliance on tests of reasonableness

When is a sign not a “sign”?

Enforceability of SignageEnforceability of SignageEnforceability of SignageEnforceability of Signage

Speed signs are LIMITS not TARGETS!!Speed signs are LIMITS not TARGETS!!Speed signs are LIMITS not TARGETS!!Speed signs are LIMITS not TARGETS!!

Ambiguous Signage

Q: If you are not a disabled driver and parked in this spot on a Saturday morning, would you expect to get fined?A: yes, the sign actually says that this is always a disabled spot with time limitations at certain times….

Ambiguous Signage

Prepayment: payment of a flat fee upon arrival

Prepaid before inserting into machine?

Ambiguous Signage

Simon Design Inc

Invisible Signage

Signs embedded within unpruned foliage…..

Disappearing Signage

Useless Signage

Signage Clutter

Signage Clutter

Bad Signage

Signage vs Advertising

- Reconcile $$ with safety and wayfinding- Conflicting location and illumination levels- Scale and visual relationship

When is too much TOO MUCH?

Reducing Signage Clutter

Entries for a competition in the UK are open to local authorities who can demonstrate they have taken some of the following steps to make their local streets free of sign clutter:- improving the environment by providing less clutter, particularly traffic signs- demonstrating savings in sign maintenance costs- conducting a sign audit to establish if signs need replacing- removing signs that are no longer of use

UK Transport Secretary Patrick McLoughlin:

“Pointless signs blot our landscape, confuse motorists and are expensive to maintain.”

No Signage?

SHARED SPACE

The brain-child of Dutchman Hans MondermanEnglish urban designer Ben Hamilton-Baillie coined the term

The idea

• Remove traffic lights, signage, crossings, lane markers and kerbsso that pedestrians, motorists and cyclists are allowed to negotiate their way through streets by gesturing to react to one another.

• Drivers take their cues from looking at people rather than signs.

• Traffic moves slower, streets become safer, accidents decline.

How to Build a Better Intersection: How to Build a Better Intersection: How to Build a Better Intersection: How to Build a Better Intersection:

Chaos = CooperationChaos = CooperationChaos = CooperationChaos = Cooperation

1.1.1.1. Remove signs:Remove signs:Remove signs:Remove signs: The architecture of the road - not signs and signals - dictates traffic flow.

2.2.2.2. Install art:Install art:Install art:Install art: The height of the fountain indicates how congested the intersection is.

3.3.3.3. Share the spotlight:Share the spotlight:Share the spotlight:Share the spotlight: Lights illuminate not only the roadbed, but also the pedestrian areas.

4.4.4.4. Do it in the road:Do it in the road:Do it in the road:Do it in the road: Cafes extend to the edge of the street, further emphasizing the idea of shared space.

5.5.5.5. See eye to eye:See eye to eye:See eye to eye:See eye to eye: Right-of-way is negotiated by human interaction, rather than commonly ignored signs.

6.6.6.6. Eliminate curbs:Eliminate curbs:Eliminate curbs:Eliminate curbs: Instead of a raised curb, sidewalks are denoted by texture and color.

Tom McNichol , Contributing editor - Wired Magazine

The Car Park as pleasure

Hotel Puerta America, Madrid – Teresa Sapei


Eureka Towers – Melbourne (Emery Studio)



Developing Technologies

Dynamic GuidanceDynamic GuidanceDynamic GuidanceDynamic Guidance


Vehicle Activated Warning SignsVehicle Activated Warning SignsVehicle Activated Warning SignsVehicle Activated Warning Signs


Driverless VehicleDriverless VehicleDriverless VehicleDriverless Vehicle


Smart PaintSmart PaintSmart PaintSmart Paint

Glow-in-the-dark tarmac and dynamic paint that warns drivers of changing weather conditions.

The roads will include interactive lighting and an induction priority lane for electric vehicles, with the aim of using light, energy and road signs that automatically adapt to varying traffic conditions.

The Elements of Signage

Shape and ColourShape and ColourShape and ColourShape and Colour

A circular sign is an instruction that must be followed.



Squares signs are used to portray information to an audience. This is

found in safe condition signs, public information signs, and fire

equipment signs.



Lastly, there is the triangle of the warning sign. This is used to convey

danger. It can also provide information but its primary purpose it to

quickly tell you to be careful.


– Use words that are readily understood

– Avoid abbreviations which are difficult for visually impaired people and people with learning difficulties

– Be consistent with the terminology

– Only give as much information as is needed at that point in time – supplementary signs can be used further along the route if necessary

– But also ensure that the meaning is conveyed and not mislead through trying to make the sign too concise.


COLOUR

� Colour should be chosen that contrast well with the background and is good to read at different distances and different qualities of light, glare, etc.

SIGN STYLE

� Capitals and lower case should always be used. The use of all capitals can cause difficulty in reading quickly for many people. (The exception of course is for the traditional well recognised: EXIT, TAXI etc);

� Typefaces should always be sans serif


LETTER KERNING (negative space between letters)


LETTER SIZING



ARROWS

Care should be taken with arrows to ensure that there is not too much space between the words and the arrow, which would make visual alignment difficult.


TOTEMS


PICTOGRAMS

Let a picture paint a thousand wordsLet a picture paint a thousand wordsLet a picture paint a thousand wordsLet a picture paint a thousand words


PICTOGRAMS


Thank you!

Cristina Lynn

[email protected]

www.parkingconsultants.com

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SIGNAGE Usage & Abusage