Jun 26, 2006

WalkIcon: PedPerson

Here's backstory on one type of pedestrian signs. The guideposts are an important part of walk culture that's often taken for granted.

Have you met PedPerson? She’s helped you find the public restroom, he’s guided you to the pay telephone or assisted you with a dozen more things you need "at the crossroads of modern life". PedPerson is the image that plays a lead role in a symbol system recognized from trails to restaurants to airports, worldwide.

Created by the American Institute of Graphic Arts (AIGA) and the U.S. Department of Transportation, the groups wanted to develop "an example of how public-minded designers can address a universal communication need--to present signage that is clearly legible at a distance, conveys the required range of complex messages and addresses people of different ages and cultures." A complete set of the 50 copyright-free passenger/pedestrian symbols developed by AIGA is now available on the web, free of charge at this address:

http://www.aiga.org/content.cfm?ContentAlias=symbolsigns

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