Discords in signposting

1.1 Presentation of technical structures A discrepancy between the structure of the architecture and that of the user can cause restlessness. Mirror walls are, in effect, the ultimate in restlessness, showing what really is not there at all. See Figures at the right.

Figure 1. The effect of a mirror The mirror has no effect yet. Source: New York, approx. 1995.

Figure 2. The effect of mirror The mirror has a drammatic effect. The mirror shows at the left of the pedestrian an empty street. The pedestrian might conclude that he can cross savely. However he is looking at a mirror showing the street at the right. Behind the mirror there might be traffic on the street het is going to cross. Source: New York, approx. 1995.

Restlessness can be caused by having all parts o fa building complex look identical. The user no longer is able to notice differences and he can not tell whether he has been at a point before. See figure at the right..

Figure 3. The artistic design of this underground station The distinct design reduces the number of passengers confusing similar designed underground stations. Source: Underground station Stockholm 1985.

Failing to show what the purpose of a given architectural feature is another option. See Figure at the right..

Figure 4. Architecture does not show function This looks like a shopping mall. It is a station. To increase awareness of entering a station the tiles on the floor form patterns of rails and sleepers. Source: Utrecht Central station, approx. 1995.

One can emphasize in the signposting features that are relevant for technicians only. See, for example the three figures at the right. Nevertheless, not only technicians involved in buildings who force their mental model onto the users.

Figure 5. Technology versus user's target for signposting The pictogram shows transport technologies (bus, rail, underground, water). The pictograms do not show targets (e.g. city centre, suburbs, international, intercontinental). It is not clear whether the boat sign refers to boats heading for America or for the other side of the lake at that side of the station. In that station there are passengers for both targets. Source: Amsterdam central station 2008.

Figure 6. Architects’s vision is central in signposting For architects expressions such as exit and side are very important e.g. “This sign should be mounted in the hall at the exit centrum side (Dutch: ”Uitgang Centrumzijde”). For the user only the objective is of importance: “Centre”. That is 66% less text.

Figure 7. User’s vision is central in signposting “Centrum” is all the user need. All users expect that there is a side and an exit at the direction indicated. Source: Cologne Central Station, approx. 1985.

2. Marketing

The influence of advertising on the effectiveness of signposting information was studied by Boersema and Zwaga (1985). From this survey it appeared that the conspicuousness of signposting can be reduced by advertising by a large amount. In the old days and even more today, presenting the marketing name of the travel product is more important than presenting relevant travel information such as: delays, other destinations and differences between destinations of front an rear of the train. See figure 7 above. To top.

Marketers and signposters both try to attract the visual attention of the user. Generally speaking the marketer has the advantage, as he has more budget available for this purpose. Figures 7 above and 8 at the right show examples of conflicting marketing and passenger interests.

Figure 8. Arrows having two functions, Having two functions one function might be missed. In this Pinokio amusement park Pinokio’s nose is used as arrow. Because the esthetic function the direction indicating function of the nose might be missed.

4 Use of colour

It does happen that a designer selects a colour scheme in such a way, that light symbols appear on a light background. This proved insufficient contrast, making the text illegible. Of course, when red and green are used they should not have the same luminance. In that case red-green colour blinds can see the difference. To top.

In addition to physiological requirements there are psychological requirements. Colours do not have an ordinal structure. Seeing a blue room gives no indication of where the green room is. Knowing one is in the north wing of a building many users know where to find the south wing. When you know you are on floor five, you are also aware of the position of floor 6. It is common practice of designers to allocate specific meanings to colours. Users might not be aware of this specific interpretation. See figure at the right.. Unless we are prepared to personally tell each passenger at the entrance to the building that colour is being used and what the meaning of the colours is. For example, Wright (1988) has studied what the effect is of the difference between the background colour on a board which gives information per floor. The floor at which the users happened to be at the time, had a different colour. After having used the boards several times, when asked, did not notice the use of colour nor were they able to explain the meaning of the colour.

Figure 9. Characters having two functions, one function might be missed The name of the restaurant is “tijd” (Dutch for time). The characters “i” and “j” form the hands of a clock. A creative design. Users might not notice the clock, nor the name of the restaurant.

5 Double functions

Creativity and artistic considerations might suggest form for signs having more functions. Functional fixedness is a cognitive bias that limits the user to interpret a sign only one way. In most cases that is the is traditional meaning. The figure at the right show such a riddle. To top.

Figure 10. What is this? This is art. Under the umbrellas and on the chair bus passengers can wait for their bus. T he bus stop sign is at the left. Source: Den Bosch, the Netherlands, approx. 1985

5 Realism

Realists are information designers who picture a given situation as it is. Examples are: - floor plans - arranging products sold per floor - arranging targets per direction. A realistic presentation of information is an odd way to present information as one helps an user who cannot find his way in the real situation. Arranging products per floor he has no option but to start at the top of the directory, hoping that the product is sold in the attic and not in the basement. Hence, Wright (1988) claims, correctly, that signposting at elevators must not be graded by floor, but by the target of the user. This can be an alphabetic arrangement, by type of facility (shops, offices, clothing, retailers, groceries), enables the user to skip many targets. Realism not only can lead to longer search time but also to more serious problems (see figure at the right). A presentation based on reality appears to be very attractive. Its design does not take much time and, in the case of criticism being offered, the reply is simple. "But that is how it is!". To top.

Figure 11. Realisme in icons causing serious problems Elevator entrance at the top floor. The elevator only goes down, so only the down arrow is shown. This might cause serious problems for passengers urgently searching a toilet but finding themselves in an elevator. These problems can be prevented by adding an up arrow.

Improving public transport with psychology, articles:

Decision making of vending machine users Discords in signposting. From buttons for fingers towards graphics for brains Less other train accidents on level crossings Logo, complex company logo Logo, 1 logo, 9 interpretations Passenger reactions and passenger actions: improving public transport Pictogram, lift and arrows Pictogram, muster station confusion Naming public transport lines for passengers Naming ring roads Naming targets for way finding A new conceptual structure for passenger information? The information street. The right way for wrong driving way signs Threats and opportunities for wayfinding systems Turn right please, navigation screens should obey perception Structuring departures on dynamic displays. Structuring chaotic space with a visual list Why car park signs should lie

Bewegwijzeraars moeten meer egocentrisch werken Cognitieve psychologie & OV Communiceren met de OV-chipkaart Kijken achter de horizon, orientatie scherm autonavigatie Hoe onderzoek je het denken van reizigers Met het OV naar het Oog van de reiziger OV kan reizigers geen verstoringsinfo geven Teksten en grafische symbolen op automaten Vertrektijd is passe, leve de afteltijd. Waarom vergeet de reiziger check-out bij de OV-chipkaart

Improving non-public transport applications with psychology:

Interface, GUI and web. Public transport: signposting, dynamic displays, (e-card) ticket vending machines, train traffic control. How to organize our life in a technical future.   Train driving: ETCS mmi: high speed train driving using cognitive psychology.

Contact

Leonard Verhoef. +31 (30) - 231 44 97 Parkstraat 19 3581 PB Utrecht Nederland humanefficiency.nl verhoef@humanefficiency.nl Chamber of commerce, trade register, subscription number: 39057871.