The way to go

This video by Hirst, Crickmore and Durose tells the story of the UK system of road signs and the contribution made by two designers, Margaret Calvert and Jock Kinneir between 1957 and 1967.

As a regular cyclist, I spend a lot of time being guided and protected by road signs. But in a funny way, I don’t really notice them; it’s only when there is a new feature, such as a new mark for the congestion zone or a nice blue stripe for a new cycle lane, that my proper awareness seems to wake-up to the other things decorating my route.

The video makes the point that this happens precisely because Calvert and Kinneir’s work was so good: information design is successful when we are able to derive significant meaning from it but without being distracted by it.

A more detailed account of Calvert and Kinneir’s work can be found on the Design Museum website, here.