DOT pictograms
Such images are often used in airports, train stations, hotels, and other public places for foreign tourists, as well as being easier to identify than strings of text.In the 1970s, the United States Department of Transportation recognized the shortcomings of pictograms drawn on an ad hoc basis at transportation-related facilities across the United States and commissioned the American Institute of Graphic Arts to produce a comprehensive set of pictograms.After determining which features were the most successful and appropriate, the designers drew a set of pictograms to represent 34 meanings requested by the DOT.A key goal was to avoid starting from scratch when possible, and instead build off previous development of robust symbol designs in existing systems.These messages were broken into four broad categories: 'Public Services', facility services and modes of transport (Telephones, toilets, first aid); 'Concessions', commercial activities (Car rental, coffee shop, shops); 'Processing Activities', passenger related processes (Ticket purchase, customs); 'Regulations', (No smoking, No entry).Can this symbol be enlarged and reduced successfully?Scores for these three categories were awarded by each committee member on a scale of 1 (weak) to 5 (strong).The guidelines present guidance to a design team, rather than a strict set of requirements for typeface, sizes, colors, illumination, etc, that must be adhered to.This decision is intended to strike a balance between creating a perfect system while allowing symbols to appropriately integrate into the environment they're being used in.[2] Letter size should be decided on a situational basis, using testing, however a general rule is that 1 inch (25 mm) in height for ever 50 feet (15 m) of viewing distance.For example, in 1999 the Red Cross informed Ultimate Symbol that their 1996 publication Official Signs & Icons, featuring various symbol collections, that the Red Cross in the AIGA pictogram collection was a violation of the Geneva Convention and United States trademark laws, and asked for its removal from future editions.
pictogramstoiletstelephonesHelveticapublic domainUnited States Department of Transportationad hocAmerican Institute of Graphic ArtsRoger CookTokyo International Airport1972 Olympic GamesMunich1964 Summer Olympics (Tokyo, Japan)1968 Summer Olympics (Mexico City, Mexico)1972 Winter Olympics (Sapporo, Japan)1972 Summer Olympics (Munich, West Germany)Australian Department of Civil AviationAir Transport AssociationBritish Airports AuthorityDallas/Fort Worth International AirportInternational Air Transport AssociationInternational Civil Aviation OrganizationLas Vegas AirportNational Park ServiceDutch RailwaysPort Authority of New York and New JerseySweden's National ParksSeattle-Tacoma AirportTransport CanadaInternational Union of RailwaysExpo 67 (Montreal, Canada)Expo '70 (Osaka, Japan)handsetSemanticsyntacticpragmaticpush-button telephoneOstwaldAmerican Red CrossGreek crossANSI Z535.1–2002ISO 7010ISO 7001International Organization for StandardizationPantonepublic domain materialEllen LuptonJ. Abbott MillerWayback Machine