Signs of the times

Signs preceded words. Humans communicated with pictorial languages, like hieroglyphics, before written languages using words. One need only imagine the hieroglyphics on ancient Egyptian monuments to remember how ancient the practice of signage is to humans.

 

Signs are a subject of serious study. There is a whole academic discipline called semiotics focused on the study of how signs come to represent something else. American scientist, mathematician, logician, and philosopher Charles Sanders Pierce, who was a founder of semiotics, defined a sign as: something that stands to somebody for something in some capacity. Signs are necessary for communication and therefore a fundamental part of what it means to be human.

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Signs can help enhance learning. In the last century, progress has been made on how to use signs to share information more effectively. Otto Neurath, the Viennese sociologist and philosopher, thought of signs as a "visual education" that can democratize information and make it more accessible to all. He was fond of saying "words divide, pictures unite." Otto Neurath and his wife, Marie Reidemeister, developed International System of Typographic Picture Education (ISOTYPE). The aim of ISOTYPE was intended to help people learn scientific concepts as well as information about society. W. E. B. DuBois, the social scientist and philosopher, described data visualization of social facts as "infographic activism" in cases when social issues that should be addressed are visualized. Signs, in the broad sense of the term, have a profound influence on how we understand and engage with the world.

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Signs make navigating the world possible. In terms of how we more commonly think of signs, they can help us to move through space, both real and virtual. Road signs, for example, date back to the Bronze Age and were used throughout the Roman Empire. Standardization occurred throughout the 20th century with various associations publishing manuals, such as the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MUTCD). These standards change over time. For example, the font Highway Gothic can be seen on most highways in the US, but scientific research has supported a new font, Clearview, which has been shown to be more readable at high speeds. This is an example of how practical experience and scientific research can combine to improve signage over time.

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While signs have a great history and clear value, there can sometimes be a popular bias against the value of signs, at least the kinds of signs that are posted on roads and hallways nowadays. To some, signs seem trivial - barely noticeable. To others, signs are very visible, but not in a good way. The song "Signs" by Five Man Electrical Band testifies to this negative sentiment about signs:

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Sign, sign
Everywhere a sign
Blockin' out the scenery
Breakin' my mind
Do this, don't do that
Can't you read the sign?

 

Signs can be oppressive when they are not designed and placed with care, as these lyrics illustrate. When not deployed mindfully, signs can become annoying. While it is true that poor signage can be confusing and ugly, that just means that we should take care to increase the quality, not just the quantity, of signs.

 

Here at The Alliance for Good Signage (TAGS), we take these lessons from history seriously and aim for signs to add value to the world by making important information more accessible. We do this by applying scientific research, evidence-based thinking, effective design, and practical applications.

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