This document discusses signage and wayfinding projects at King's Cross Station and for the Emirates Air Line cable cars in London. It provides examples of how human factors were analyzed, including comparing original and revised retail designs, evaluating sign locations, and developing metrics to measure wayfinding performance. The document also outlines international efforts to standardize color-coded alert systems using colors like red, yellow, and green to universally indicate levels of danger, caution, and safety across different hazards and locations.

1. Practical Human Factors & Sign Design
John Wood. Executive Chairman CCD Design & Ergonomics Ltd
Jon Burden, Industry Liaison Manager, Network Rail
King's Cross Station Redevelopment Programme

2. Introduction
• Kings Cross – Signage and Wayfinding
• ‘Cable-cars’ project signage programme
• Modelling ‘wayfinding’
• International standards on colour coding

3. The Kings Cross Project

4. The Organizational Chart

5. Original Grip Stage 3 Design

6. Retail Redesign Grip Stage 5

7. Work Diagram For Consultation

10. Checking Human Factors

11. Checking Human Factors

12. Comparing Human Factors

13. Departure Board

14. Impact Of Revised Retail Layout

15. ‘Monolith’ Location & Signing

16. Where The ‘Monolith’ Should Have Been

17. Location Of Information Desk

18. The ‘Link Bridge’ Challenge

19. ‘Vinyls’

20. ‘Departures’ Is Now ‘Arrivals’

21. Temporary Station Signage

22. Fire Escape + Impromptu Signing

23. Temporary Signing By Train Operators

24. Redundant Signing By Train Operating Company

25. Lessons Learnt
• Make easily, replaceable signs
• Don’t change the design half way through!
• Decide on the signing standards to use early
on
• Create some form of mock-up
• Visit another site ‘intelligently’

26. Emirates Air Line (Cable Car for London)

27. Typical Plan Layout of Signs For ‘Cable Cars’

28. ‘Cable Cars’ - Lessons Learnt
• Paper based ergonomic evaluation difficult to
do.
• Attempting a 3D assessment in a 2D
representation
• Need for simple quick and low cost modelling.

29. Development of Wayfinding Tools:
Objectives & Concepts

30. Study Objectives
• Improve measurement of wayfinding
performance
• Robust and reliable
• Easy to use
• Applicable to new works and modifications
• Difficulty of ‘putting oneself in visitors shoes’
• Develop metrics

31. Survey Results On Wayfinding
Negative Features
Frustration
Confusion due to information overload
Confusion due to retail and directional infor
Lack of awareness of time and distance information
Poor terminology
Lack of recovery clues
Inadequate lighting/auditory environments

32. Example Of Wayfinding Metrics

33. Example Of Wayfinding Metrics

34. Analysis Of Photographic Image
Class of sign Number in visual Area in photo % of total
field (mm squared)
Primary 2 470 2%
Secondary 2 1270 6%
Other 4 630 3%

35. Measure Of Visibility At Decision Points

36. Scoring Visibility & Relevance of Signs

37. Scoring Visibility & Relevance of Signs
Connection: Entrance to - Visibility Weighting Score
1 toilets 1 0.8 0.8
2 shops 1 0.5 0.5
3 check-in 0 1 0
4 security 1 1 1
5 café 1 0.3 0.3
AVERAGE 0.52

38. Standard for Colour Coded Alerts
• Express the degree of safety or danger
• Be suitable for an international audience
• Cover all hazards, all locations, all sectors
• Transmission by variety of media

39. Generic Meaning of Colours in Colour Codes
Colour Meaning Suggestion
Red Danger Take appropriate safety action immediately
Yellow Caution Prepare for taking appropriate safety action
Green Safety No need to take safety actions

40. Results of
International
Survey

41. Results of
International
Survey

42. Results of
International
Survey
Fire Danger

43. Results of
International
Survey

44. Results of
International
Survey
Triage Tags

45. Results of
International
Survey
Metrological Map

46. Results of
International
Survey
The International Nuclear and
Radiological Event Scale

47. Initial Proposals

48. Current Proposals
NOTE: avoid using red and green without supplementary
elements

49. Some Useful Guidance
ISO Guide 71 to products and services to address the needs of
older persons and persons with disabilities

50. In Summary
• Illustrated how human factors contributed to the signage and
wayfinding elements of two UK programmes
• Shown how metrics might be developed for measuring
wayfinding performance
• Presented the work of an international standards team
developing a set of universally acceptable colour codes for
public warnings about disasters