ABSTRACT
Transport signs are ubiquitous; a quick look along almost any highway, rail line, or airport ramp will confirm this. The directness with which they communicate, and their exact designs, can almost be thought of as a form of art. As the next chapter in this book shows, these signs have a long history, easily predating motor cars, railways, or aviation. However, little serious research to improve their effectiveness had been undertaken before about 1960. Since the 1960s, admittedly, a large amount of research has been performed on transport signs; however, much of this work has been restricted to piecemeal testing of individual factors of signs (e.g., the most effective font type or the most effective sign to warn of a particular hazard). Overall, little work has been done that brings together much of the important work on signing from the perspective of the human operator, whether driver, pedestrian, or pilot. This book attempts to redress this imbalance.
