ABSTRACT
On my way to work the bus gets held up before a large intersection, even quite early in the morning. Sitting on the top deck, my eye is drawn to a sign, high up on the wall opposite; it shows how to get into the car park of a supermarket. It is not a complicated sign by any means, nothing unusual about it really. But I have puzzled about it: how does it work? Above all, how does it work here? It is about 150 metres before this complicated intersection. Drivers have to keep their eye on the traffic; there’s no time for leisurely perusal. Of course, my academic interest in the sign lies in its joint use of image and writing. And so, one morning, when the bus is held up in just the right spot, I take a photo on my mobile phone, as one does (Figure 1.1).
