Lance Wyman: Mexican signage system

This post is based on an article from the latest issue of Creative Review. I came across it by an accident, but it is really great and must read, since we are working on our own signage system now.

"In 1969, Lance Wyman's pictograms for the Mexico City Metro brought radical thinking to the design of a new public transport system. So that the signage would be understood by everyone, Wyman devised a series of symbols for the stations that could also be expressed verbally - Metro passengers could then travel from grasshoppers to duck, via eagle head and fountain."

I can't say that I like the design itself as much as I like the idea behind it. It is brilliant! Back in these times Mexico was hitted by an amount of tourists that visited city, because of the Olympic Games. It is naive to expect that tourist will learn the name of the stations in Mexican and and it greatly complicates moving around the city. That's how Wymans came to the idea of representation the stations by pictograms from history, excisting monument or just a function related to the certain area. Not only the tourists benefited from it, but also people with poor or non-existent literacy skills.

Using symbols that can be recognized by people all over the world is a brilliant simple idea, based on complex intentions. Wyman gave each station a personality, a non-verbal symbol that stands for it and is easy to remember. Years later people still use this system, proving that good design doesn't get old.

#research #LanceWyman #signs #signage #graphicdesign