PICTOGRAMS Design, Development and Creation
The way that humans process iconic information is a complex issue. Although pictograms hold certain advantages related to image processing, research has revealed a number of difficulties and problems related to the interpretation of intended meanings. First of all, although drawings can be used effectively to represent static objects, there are limitations to their use in representing events and actions in which objects are modified. Since pictograms need to incorporate the shapes of specific objects, there are limitations to the use of drawings to represent categories of objects, especially the kind of superordinate categories that group objects of different shapes. For example, the pictogram "No Smoking" which shows a cigarette also applies to cigars and pipes.
Another difficulty arises from the symbolic nature and polysemy of pictograms (Olson, 1970). A drawing of a car in a pictogram could refer to the car itself, to driving, or to vigilance, as is the case with medicinal pictograms etc. Thus, one cannot expect an isomorphism between the pictogram and its meaning (Kolers, 1979). The meaning of a pictogram has to be inferred through a process of interpretation constructed from both the task in hand, knowledge and context.
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New Southampton Airport pictogram
New Southampton Airport pictogram
Original DOT pictogram
Original DOT pictogram
Original DOT pictogram
International Difference Pictograms only differ slighlty, from country to country. The German and British are very simmilar. The New York version is very different, to represent that disabled people can somtimes activly move rather than being stuck still
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Train
Train
Bus
Stairs Taxi
Bus
Lift Water Transport
Taxi
Escalator Car Rental
Water Transport
Car Rental
THE NEW AIRPORT PICTOGRAMS
Ground Transport
A pictogram is to have one single meaningful message, which in an optimal case has the same meaning across cultures and languages. To this end, one should choose an iconic representation of the given object; using a symbol instead of an iconic representation could lead to confusion, since symbols are very versatile around the globe. A visual resemblance to the real object as in iconic representations should do the trick, though. The exception to the rule here are of course cases, in which a symbol will be understood everywhere.
Ground Transport
Directional Arrows
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Male
Female
Nursery
Litter Disposal
Departures
Arrivals
Departure Alt
Arrivals Alt
Telephone
Currency Echange
Hotel Information
Baggage Locker
Imagration
Customs
Ticket Purchase
Waiting Room
Passanger Area
Information
Cashier
Resturant
Coat Roam
Coffee/Drinks
First Aid
Parking