Pictograms / Research draft

Linking pictograms to facilities and current state

The pictogram study separates the meaning of a symbol from the facility it refers to and observations about that facility. Its proposed record distinguishes existence, availability and onward continuity.

Selected findings

Recognition and navigation tasks

Naming an object in a pictogram does not establish understanding of the complete instruction or successful navigation to a destination.

Relationships within a sign

Words, codes, arrows and qualifiers need to refer to the intended subject. An intersection of drawn lines does not establish a passenger interchange.

Meaning in a comparison

The study distinguishes station identity, facilities, modes and actions. Ticket purchase and ticket validation represent different tasks.

From evidence to design

OTI proposals

An original unvalidated lift pictogram is paired with separate fields for object, operating state and onward access. The constructed example says Lift, Unavailable and Unknown. It does not describe an actual lift or station incident. — Constructed example from the unvalidated lift pilot: a facility labelled Lift, availability labelled Unavailable and onward access labelled Unknown.

Defined concepts and drawings

Keep the concept, contextual label and drawing distinct from the individual facility or connection.

Separate state observations

Record existence, availability and onward continuity with source, time and scope. Retain unknown information explicitly.

Evaluation of the complete instruction

Use the labelled pilot to compare meaning and action in context, including suitable local and text baselines.