Graphics 2
introduction to pictograms -
international safety signs
introduction
• Signage systems
• Quiz - identify the subject of the sign and how it is telling
you to behave
• 25 signs from DIN standard used by UK Health and Safety
• Review of quiz
• scores - what do they tell us?
• Discussion - what makes a good sign system?
what is graphic design?
• visual
• communication
• effective
• non-artistic (!)
some examples;
• the layout and composition of a printed advertisement;
• proportion of text to image, typefaces, style of photographic material
• a company brand;
• the logo, its use on stationery, the style and composition of brochures
• an instruction leaflet;
• illustrations, representation of flow of information – static lines and
curves to convey action
• signs and sign systems;
• the design of the pictograms, the choice of symbols
• arguably the smallest ‘units’ of meaning in Graphic Design are symbols
and pictograms…
familiar example - packing signs
Hans-Rudolf Lutz – Die Hieroglyphen von Heute (1990) (Hieroglyphs
of Today) - http://www.lutz.to/hieroglyphen1.html
compendium of 5,000 international signs and symbols found on
cardboard boxes
demonstration of a working system of signs that has
developed without the formal intervention of graphic
designers or information graphics
familiar example - laundry symbols
• GINETEX - Groupement International
d'Etiquetage pour l'Entretien des
Textiles (International Association for
Textile Care Labelling)
• claim to cover 95% of all manufactured
textiles
• GINETEX care symbols are
registered with the WIPO (World
Intellectual Property Organization)
• example of a sign system that is
‘owned’ by a commercial entity
• can only be used under licence
international safety signs
• Three main standards in common usage:
• ISO 3864: International Standards Organisation
• includes most of the DIN 4844-2 (see later) and adds many more
• ANSI Z.535: American National Standards Institute
• requires text to be used along with pictograms
• DIN 4844-2: Deutsches Institut für Normung (German
Institute of Standardisation)
• most familiar to people in the UK and Europe, generally recognised
worldwide
• does not require text to be used – no language-specific
a short quiz about safety signs
• DIN 4844-2 warning signs quiz
three examples of safety sign;
Hazard warning: Mandatory: Wear Prohibited: Do not
Corrosive materials protective clothing touch
Subtle difference between the signs - most people ‘get it’, but find it
hard to put into words and describe the precise meaning of the sign…
three types of safety sign meaning
Hazard Warning Mandatory Prohibited
Cultural knowledge necessary to deduce the meanings of the signs
when pictograms are not present
some interesting cases; toxic sign
• Skull and crossbones - use as a symbol
stretches back thousands of years
• Known to have been used in New York State
since around 1850 to denote poison
• ‘HAZMAT’ EU standard toxic symbol; Directive
67/548/EEC
• ISO, ANSI, DIN and most other standards use
the same symbol
• Very powerful cultural symbol
• does not provide pictorial representation of
hazard (such as falling figure)
• could be argued to represent consequences of
hazard (but what about any other hazard?)
some interesting cases; biohazard sign
• Charles Baldwin, Dow Chemical, 1966
• Wanted a sign with no meaning!
• ‘We wanted something that was memorable
but meaningless, so we could educate people
as to what it means.’ New York Times, 2001
• Designed by marketing department, tested for
recognition
• Ease of reproduction - stencilling
• Also needed to work regardless of orientation
• Can be reproduced precisely with compass
and ruler - field work
some interesting cases; radioactive sign
• Originally sketched out by a group of people at
the University of California, Berkeley in 1946
• 1948 letter by Nels Garden described why
they chose it;
• represents activity radiating from an atom
• magenta symbol on a blue background
• cheap to print
• did not conflict with any other colour code
• blue not common in radiation labs
• later yellow background added to make it clear
it was a warning
• ANSI standardised modern symbol late 1950s
electromagnetic spectrum
some interesting cases; radioactive sign
• Requirement to represent other types of
radiation;
• Non-ionising radiation
• Laser radiation
• Optical radiation
• Dilution of the message;
• familiarity breeds contempt
• which hazards are the most hazardous?
• how to represent hierarchy?
• how to deal with a hazard that is far more
dangerous than ‘similar’ hazards?
‘levels of hazard’
• EU directive 67/548/EEC ‘HAZMAT’
• attempts to show the level of danger posed
• includes the ‘+’ character in the sign
• adding an additional symbol to alter the
meaning of the sign
• however;
• adds a cultural requirement (language)
• how ‘extreme’ is ‘extremely’?
• confusion with other conventions, eg ‘i’ for
‘irritant’ modifies ‘harmful’ sign
some interesting cases; radioactive sign
• Feb 2007 new sign standardised by
International Atomic Energy Agency,
and contained in ISO 21482:2007;
• Purpose is to make it clear to
‘everyone’ that there is danger present
that will lead to harm and that they
should leave
• Result of a five year project
• Tested by Gallup Institute on a total of
1,650 individuals in Brazil, Mexico,
Morocco, Kenya, Saudi Arabia, China,
India, Thailand, Poland, Ukraine and
the United States
some interesting cases; radioactive sign
• Compound nature of the sign;
• how many pictograms are present?
• is there a narrative?
• Cultural components of the sign;
• on what does an understanding of its
meaning depend?
• to whom might it be meaningless?
summary
• Graphic Design is concerned with creating effective
visual communications
• the smallest ‘units’ of visual communication might be
symbols and pictograms
• in a ‘closed system’ we might be able to make
assumptions; knowledge of symbols, sign conventions
• to communicate to the widest audience we need to
minimise assumptions as much as possible
• units can be combined to communicate additional
information
sources
• Devleopment of the original radioactivity symbol at Berkeley
• http://www.orau.org/ptp/articlesstories/radwarnsymbstory.htm
• Commission Directive 2001/59/EC, 6 August 2001 specifying labelling of hazardous materials
• http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriS erv.do?uri= CELE X:32001L0059:EN:HTML
• Press release from the International Atomic Energy Agency about the new ionising radiation
hazard sign
• http://www.iaea.org/NewsCenter/ News/2007/radiationsymbol.html
• ‘HAZMAT’ standard hazardous materials signs, contained in EU Directive;
• Directive 67/548/EEC
• Short interview with Charles Baldwin about the development of the biohazard symbol
• http://www.hms.harvard.edu/orsp/coms/BiosafetyResources/History-of-Biohazard-Symbol.htm
• illustrations from wiki commons project