Transport Facilities & Travel

Pictorial road signs were among the first measures introduced to overcome the language barrier in travel, especially in Europe. In the early 1960s some organisations started focusing on improving passenger guidance and information using pictograms. Among the first were the UIC (Union Internationale des Chemins de fer, International Union of Railways) with the first edition of the International Railway Standard 413. Due to growing air traffic the International Aviation Transport Association (IATA) and the Air Transport Association of America (ATA) followed soon with small pictogram systems for guidance and information at airports. International events like the Olympic Games in Tokyo (1964) and the world exposition in Montreal in 1967 also led to new pictogram development.

Regarding the rapidly increasing number of differing designs and the low quality of many designs several initiatives were started to reach user friendly and effective public information symbols. Two of these should be mentioned:

The work of Subcommittee 1 of ISO Technical Committee 145 (ISO/TC 145/SC 1) including student projects from ICOGRADA, which led to the standard ISO 7001. Especially the pictograms of this standard published before 1990 were selected and improved on the basis of extensive preparation, testing, and redesigning.
The AIGA symbol signs project sponsored by the US Department of Transportation. Based on an inventory from 28 sources, committee evaluations and discussions, Cook and Shanosky Associates Inc. created a unified set of symbols. Due to excellent design and by making the symbols available free of charge in EPS and GIF format this symbol set was an exceptional success.

Comparison of Concepts, Examples, Reviews

Below you will find the current compilations of examples plus reviews for public information symbols related to travel and transport facilities.

Modes of Transportation

Facilities, Services, Guidance

Updated 2024-09-01 by Ch.Brugger