Signs in our everyday life

Dominic Ong
Jul 20, 2017 · 3 min read

In Singapore, signs are used as tools to remind citizens of the rules and regulation of the country. Violating any of these rules, usually ends up in fines especially for drivers. Some of these signs are very unique to Singapore which makes it interesting observations.

Speed Limit

This is a very common sign that is used globally to indicate speed limits of the roads. It uses big clear fonts for the numbers with a red circle as a warning.

Speed Limit

No Stopping & No Waiting

These 2 signs are very similar to each other. On first look, these signs do not make any sense to the common man. However, only drivers who have taken driving theory test would understand these signs. The arrows illustrates the direction the sign is applicable to. The colours are bright, attracting the attention of the driver to abide by the rules.

No Waiting
No Stopping

Give way to bus

This sign uses a few combination of sign to demonstrate give way to buses. Firstly, the arrows are used to portray the direction of the vehicles. Next is the triangle sign which represents give way. So by combining these signs, it is telling the driver to give way to the bus.

Bus Giveway

Danger Sign

This sign is very unique to Singapore. It has the words “Danger-Keep Out!” in 4 different languages — English, Chinese, Malay and Tamil. The reason behind this due to our multi-racial country. So the warning sign has to cater to the various language groups in Singapore. The red capped words are to alert others of the imminent danger.

Danger

Conclusion

These are the signs that are used in Singapore. Some of them are recognised internationally, whereas some of them are used for local context. When doing this research, I realised that localised signs are important to consider to make it more accessible to others.

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Dominic Ong

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Product Designer for Startups

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