OUTPUT

The point of a sign, of course, is to be informative. Signage that is difficult to understand, due to its location, colour, font, graphics or language is inconvenient and even dangerous. It's an issue for the UK's Highways Agency, which is currently undertaking research to find out how many current and potential pictograms are understood by the public. The point of the investigation is to ascertain whether overseas visitors who can't read the local language will comprehend signs using only images.

It's important research, firstly because statistics questioning UK drivers' understanding of road signs frequently make headlines, and secondly as multilingualism becomes more of a necessity we have to ensure we are not over-egging the pudding in terms of text. Throughout Wales there are signs in both English and Welsh, but farther afield you are likely to see vast swathes of writing in public areas – some railway stations in Switzerland will advise you in German, French, Italian, English and Japanese, for instance. It is comforting and helpful to see one's own language, but can it be counterproductive? A traffic sign-maker of 40 years' experience described the bilingual signage in Wales to me as 'good for the sign-maker and the Welsh Assembly, but to everyone else it's expensive and potentially dangerous'. A divisive statement, but one with points worth discussing.

In terms of danger, the moment it could take for a driver to read multiple instructions ahead of him could result in an accident, and more languages may compound that. I remember driving through Wales with a friend, when he remarked on the number of RAF bases in the area, having misunderstood the Welsh translation of 'slow' ('araf') painted on the roads. Not the most serious example, but a confused driver is one likely to make mistakes. Indeed, in recent days the news has reported that Polish and Spanish signs in Worcestershire, requested by the county council to ensure European lorry drivers and migrant workers were aware of a road diversion, were removed because the Highways Agency was concerned that English-speakers would be distracted by them.

So, it appears there is a delicate balance to maintain, between informing all but distracting none. Ireland and other countries have improved safety matters by including the second language in a different font such as italics. However, this does raise the question of which is the 'second' language; doubling up is often for reasons of national or regional identity rather than comprehension, but many would say it's no less important.

As the traffic sign-maker above states, our industry should benefit from multilingualism, thanks to the necessarily larger signs and extra work which would, in theory, result in higher profits. But in the current climate, local authorities will only pay as much as they have to and are therefore not likely to contract sign-makers who stand to make much of a profit, if any at all, thus balancing it out. However, recent developments in wide-format printing aimed at traffic signs, such as new releases from Mutoh and Durst, mean larger signs can be produced at a lower cost than previously.

While traffic signs are generally considered to be at little risk from the steady march of digital signage, the newer media is likely to play a greater part in less safety-conscious but more efficiency-minded environments, like transport hubs. Electronic departure boards are old hands in airports and railway stations, many taking advantage of their transformation abilities to display essential travel information in two or more tongues. But wayfinding, advertisements and safety information could all reach more passengers through digital signage, by switching languages as well as graphics.

Perhaps the question sign-makers, local and government authorities and signage buyers should ask is where to draw the line. More languages should make life easier, but the topic poses problems. Should we then be going back to basics? Technology has long filtered through to areas where education has not, and using pictograms that suit modern circumstances can be incredibly useful. This month it was reported that kiosk company NCR has developed a new cash machine called Pillar, which features only a fingerprint biometric sensor and symbols – the idea being to help illiterate people save and withdraw money from their bank. The majority of the pictograms proposed for UK traffic signs in the Warboys Report of 1963 has certainly stood us in good stead for the past half-century, suggesting not only that they will continue to work with modern life, but also if something's not broke, don't fix it.