We see road signs every day - be it warning signs, regulatory signs or just simple information signs. However, if you think about what signs you saw while walking this morning, you may not remember anything.
You probably have not thought about it before, or you do not understand why we may not remember the road signs created with quite sharp colors and clear inscriptions. The truth is that a lot of research has been done to get this result. Yes, road signs are made in such a way that you do not consciously notice or pay attention to them. Like this while driving a car our mind is not overloaded and we get only the necessary, essential information in simple ways. For example, if each road sign had a loaded design, we would also need to pause to actually understand what it was telling us.
That’s why road signs are standardized everywhere. To the question - what is a road sign, there is a simple answer - a graphic image of a specific shape, size or color. In order to increase the importance of road signs on roads, they worked on each component based on specific studies.
How did they write texts for the road signs?
If you think about how a road sign is made, you will realize that many details were taken into account. These include the size of the texts. .As it turns out, when driving a car people do not read the letters of every word on the road signs, on the contrary, they tend to recognize the common form of the word. Also, when you move quite fast on the road, the words are no longer visible and the eye perceives them as small rectangular shapes. To deal with the problem, they did not use words, instead they use word initials, which is more noticeable on the road, and similarly, people can get specific information faster.
When it comes to reading a text, the eye first sees what is written in large print, and as reading a sentence requires more concentration, people often get bored. Accordingly, when making road signs, specific initials were written in larger font. Like this our brain concentrates more easily and receives the necessary information. It tells our subconscious that we need to focus on something important.
How did they choose colors for road signs?
The importance of a road sign is also determined by its color. Certain colors automatically evoke certain emotions. For example, we associate red with "bad", "blood" and "danger". That’s why all stop or warning signs have become red since 1894.
Physiological studies have shown that the eye can best recognize yellow and green spectrum colors, especially in low light conditions. So when drawing the colors of the road signs this was also taken into account. As a result, many directional or informational signs have a blue or green background.
How did they add information on road signs?
One initial on a road sign gives us a lot of information. With simple arrows we can hear that there is a sharp curve ahead, or the road splits in two. In short, road sign information is easily conveyed even by simple geometric figures.
All road signs that simply tell you how to keep moving with the help of simple pictures or images also activate the part of the brain that controls movement. The signs turn your attention to seconds before approaching, therefore, they fix the information on the road signs and at the same time your eyes become more observant when it detects danger.
As you can see, there is a lot of research behind the simple stop sign, studies on issues such as human perception, psychology or physiology. And if we think about the fact that we are quite easy to obey and follow the road signs, we will also realize that all this time and effort spent in research was quite effective.