For this assignment, I chose to review a wayfinding system. Below are photographs of I-40 highway signs that show up just before the I-40/wade avenue split. This signage system is very easy to use because it gives just enough information to understand where you are and where you want to go. Because the highway divides, it is super important to have appropriate signs that help the driver take the right exit. In the first photo, there is a sign that shows which lanes to take in order to drive on wade avenue towards I-440 and highway 1. The designer used a yellow exit-only panel with arrows that point directly to which lanes the driver needs to be in. The signs also tells the driver how far away from the exit he/she is so that the driver anticipates the exit and doesn’t miss it.

 

Just before reaching this sign, there was another sign that tells the driver that they’re on interstate 40. The designer uses the word “east” to tell the driver that he/she is on interstate 40 going east. This is important because you have to know which direction is east and which is west depending on whether you are going to Raleigh or towards Durham.

 

Also, on the highway, within close proximity to the other signage, was a white sign that designated the maximum speed for this stretch of the highway. This is necessary because throughout the highway are varying speed limits. This alerts the driver to know whether to slow down. The design is universal for the signs which are used all over the United States. It is important to have this universal language of signs because North Carolina receives many out-of-state visitors. To keep organized roads, the sign system has to be harmonized.

 

Along the highway, I also passed a sign for fast food restaurants. The designer added the logos for popular restaurants along with the word “food” and the number of the exit. In this particular area of the highway, the designer places the food sign close to the exit. The designer most likely put this sign close to the exit so that the driver doesn’t forget the options available.