Reply to post: @Stoneshop - Re: 1st world problems.

@Stoneshop - Re: 1st world problems.

Actually, the new German train sign (introduced in 1992) is an "interesting" (depending on how interested you are in graphic design and signage, of course ;) ) example of how to change a design without losing recognition. I cannot find a link to the story I read about this now, sadly, so this is a summary:

This new version of this sign replaces a steam-train design ( https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Bild_12_-_Unbeschrankter_Bahnübergang,_StVO_DDR_1964.svg ). Replacing this existing diagram posed problems because first, the old signs would remain in place; and second, other countries used (and continue to use) the "steam" version of this sign, and Germany, being in the centre of Western Europe, has a lot of transit traffic on its road network, so whatever the new one was, it had to be compatible with the other, older ones.

As a result, one of the concerns when drawing the new one was that it should not depart significantly from the dark-light patterning of the old-style "steam train" version when viewed from a distance. This is why the train curls rather than being shown side-on or head-on (which is the norm for pedestrian signs directing people to trains): a side-on view of a modern train would look too similar to the existing "trams sharing the road" sign, and a head-on version would be sufficiently different to not be recognisable at distance to drivers who are familiar with the old sign.

If you squint at the new version, and imagine a steam-train you should hopefully see that the roof and pantograph of the train form an area that could be considered the "smoke", and the view of the carriages curling behind look somewhat like the rear standing area a steam engine (I know nearly nothing about steam-trains, so those are definitely the wrong terms).

It's not identical, of course, but it still suggests the outline and pattern of the old version when seen at a distance in peripheral vision, and that was one of the goals for the new design: A driver who's familiar with the old sign will recognise the new one at distance as being "like" the old one. When they get closer, it'll look like a modern train, but the most important part of road signage is the recognition at distance.