Road signs use shape and colour to convey meaning even before a driver reads the words.

The longer version

A driver has a couple of seconds to read a sign, so designers put the message into shape and colour first. A triangle, an octagon or a circle can be recognised from far away and at an angle, long before any lettering is legible, and the colour carries a second signal about what kind of instruction is being given.

Standardising this grew out of traffic research comparing how quickly symbols are identified against words. Symbols also cross language barriers and survive poor weather better than text. The payoff is that a driver reacts to the silhouette of a sign while still too far away to read it, which is the whole point of the system.

Where this entry sits

Odd Little Things looks at the ordinary objects people touch every day and the small mechanisms and histories hiding inside them. Buttons, zips, pencils, mirrors, stairs, stamps, packaging, and road signs all get their turn. The full list sits on the Odd Little Things page, where every entry is listed in order.