1. lia s. Associates
IMPORTANCE OF
SIGNAGE

2. Some key elements of Visual Brand Identity:
1. Name
2. Corporate slogan, tagline and/or descriptor
3. Logo
4. Color
5. Typography
6. Visual Anatomy & Style
7. Graphic motifs (Mascot, etc.)
8. Sound, smell, taste, touch
9. Packaging
10. Signage
-Patt Matson & Knapp-
IMPORTANCE OF SIGNAGE

3. Signage is the design or use of signs and symbols to communicate a
message.
Signage refers to a collective or group of ‘signs’.
IMPORTANCE OF SIGNAGE

4. THE ISO SYSTEM
OF COLORS &
SHAPES

5. ISO
International Standards Organization
CSA
Canadian Standards Association
ANSI
American National Standards
Institute
STANDARDS CERTIFICATION
THE ISO SYSTEM OF COLORS & SHAPES

6. ISO SYSTEM OF COLORS & SHAPES
This refers to a system that has been
globally adopted - with minor
variances as indicated. It enables the
translation of a situational
pictographic image into a graphical
‘symbolic’ context.
‘Graphic context’ means the ability to
make multiple uses of the same
pictographic image for many other
purposes - depending on the actual
context.
THE ISO SYSTEM OF COLORS & SHAPES

7. CLASSIFICATION 1.0 - REGULATORY
The Canadian national standard (Z321) calls for the use of black, and
not blue, for mandatory guidance.
Prohibition Mandatory
THE ISO SYSTEM OF COLORS & SHAPES

8. CLASSIFICATION 2.0 - WARNING
ISO (7001) does not include the red triangle; the US standard (Z535)
replaces the red triangle with an orange one.
Caution! Danger!
THE ISO SYSTEM OF COLORS & SHAPES

9. CLASSIFICATION 3.0 - INFORMATION
The blue square signifies a permissible situation.
Safety &
Emergency
General information
THE ISO SYSTEM OF COLORS & SHAPES

10. VIRTUOUS
PICTOGRAPH DESIGN

11. SHAPE CODES
The use of shape codes is another
method to employ an informative
pictographic image, one that is capable
of conveying graphical context
in a symbolic format.
What the shapes to the left represent:
+ Circles / discs: regulation
+ Triangles: warning
+ Squares: general information
What the shapes to the left represent:
Shape and color code systems
are used all over the world and
conform to a set of international
standards.
VIRTUOUS PICTOGRAPH DESIGN

12. MISUSE
Sometimes, there is misuse of a system that serves very well on the
world stage to provide graphic context to pictographic images.
VIRTUOUS PICTOGRAPH DESIGN

13. COLOR CODING
It’s the second method providing
graphic context for pictographic
images.
What the colours signify:
+ Red – prohibition & danger
+ Yellow – caution
+ Green – emergency & fire
protection equipment
+ Blue – general information,
including promissory concepts.
VIRTUOUS PICTOGRAPH DESIGN

14. SOLIDS VS. OUTLINES
No matter the background colour,
solids make better pictographs than
outlines.
Solid figures/elements are always
more effective. While there is
something inherently complex about
outlines.
VIRTUOUS PICTOGRAPH DESIGN

15. EXCESS INFORMATION
If it’s not essential, don’t include it.
Particularly important if an image is very small,
such as a web page button.
VIRTUOUS PICTOGRAPH DESIGN

16. ELEMENT SIZE
The “gaps” between elements are important because they are
elements in the overall design as well.
If they are inadequate, the image can be read as only a blob.
VIRTUOUS PICTOGRAPH DESIGN

17. UNIFORMITY
Uniformity of design in the creation of pictographic images is as
essential part of effective communication as everything else.
Members of a family of pictographs should bear a recognizable
similarity to each other the same way letters do.
VIRTUOUS PICTOGRAPH DESIGN

18. SIMPLICITY
Two issues appear on this example:
ISSUE 1 – 1st
design is way more
complex & less clear than the 2nd
design.
ISSUE 2 – Has to do with the way
people absorb & use information.
VIRTUOUS PICTOGRAPH DESIGN

19. ESSENCE
nly essential components of the action/object are needed in an effective
pictograph, and all extraneous information should be eliminated.
VIRTUOUS PICTOGRAPH DESIGN

20. FAMILIARITY
If possible, always opt for concepts and images that people
are familiar with. Don’t use over complicated and or abstract visuals
that are hard to decipher, or meaningless to the average viewer.
VIRTUOUS PICTOGRAPH DESIGN

21. COMPACTNESS
All other considerations being equal, the more compact the image,
the larger (& clearer) it will read when inserted into a square.
VIRTUOUS PICTOGRAPH DESIGN

22. CLARITY
A sign, despite looking ‘difficult or impossible to identify’, needs to
have visual clarity and be able to avoid ambiguity in the message.
VIRTUOUS PICTOGRAPH DESIGN

23. AMBIGUITY
The two examples convey the same situation.
But the one on the left is fairly ambiguous, and not what we would expect.
VIRTUOUS PICTOGRAPH DESIGN

24. WORDS VS PICTURES
Other than North America, the rest of the world uses a symbol
to convey a building ‘EXIT’.
Additionally - Red vs Green when used as ‘safety colours’,
particularly when referring to fire protection & emergency equipment.
Green squares are often used for emergency-related concepts globally.
VIRTUOUS PICTOGRAPH DESIGN

25. CONSPICUITY
A sign needs to be noticeable to as many people as possible.
If the sign is hard to notice or blends with the wall,
it will not be noticed.
VIRTUOUS PICTOGRAPH DESIGN

26. SPECIFICITY
There are different states of caution, where the hazard is potential,
cautionary, or imminent & dangerous. Red has long been linked
with danger, while yellow is generally used to caution,
people nowadays will automatically recognize the difference.
VIRTUOUS PICTOGRAPH DESIGN

27. GLOBAL GRAPHIC
SYMBOLS

28. Designers are visual ambassadors, creating vehicles of
communication intended to carry messages within or across cultural
barriers.
Communication is by nature a subjective: an individual’s
perceptions are influenced by the segment of the world one is
exposed, this in turn color the individual’s communication.
In every culture, mass communication depends to a great extend on
signs and symbols. Unlike signs, symbols have deeper meaning.
SIGNAGE IN THE WORLD
GLOBAL GRAPHIC SYMBOLS

29. NORTH AMERICA
The North American continent is a cultural and symbolic hybrid,
occupied by young nations whose inhabitants have imported their
traditions and taboos from the world over.
One thing they have in common is that North American love and
respect nature and the wilderness.
GLOBAL GRAPHIC SYMBOLS

30. SOUTH AMERICA
GLOBAL GRAPHIC SYMBOLS
Ancient symbols and indigenous influences augmented by modern
Roman Catholic & Hispanic motifs.
South America is a culturally and visually diverse land mass.
From the dense rainforest of Brazil and the deserts of Chile to the
thick pampas of Argentina and the snowcapped mountains of
Patagonia, it is difficult to identify a single terrain that symbolizes the
entire continent.

31. EUROPE
The cultures of Europe have spread their influence across the entire
globe. Each European nation has its own unique iconography,
expressing centuries-old myths and superstitions.
GLOBAL GRAPHIC SYMBOLS

32. China and Hong Kong
In the history of Emperor Huang Ti's Dream, in 2650 B.C., of a civilization
that could live in harmony with nature. It is developed scientifically artistically, and
philosophically in relative isolation.
Although western symbolism has been incorporated into this rich symbolic language,
it has not been replaced by traditional meanings or messages.
GLOBAL GRAPHIC SYMBOLS

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