DOT pictograms

You have followed these symbols even if you have never heard of them. In 1974 the US Department of Transportation asked AIGA for one standard set of pictures for travelers, and Roger Cook and Don Shanosky drew them after surveying pictograms already in use around the world, from Tokyo's airport to the 1972 Munich Olympics. The first set covered 34 meanings, and 16 more symbols arrived in 1979 for a total of 50, including the familiar toilets and telephones. Because the images are in the public domain, anyone can use them, and they turn up in train stations, hotels and other public places far beyond the United States. For anyone studying wayfinding, this is the pictogram vocabulary to know first.