Fire Exit Redesign - Design principles | OUGD404

 This week, we were challenged to redesign the fire exit sign/symbol. A tough challenge as this sign already communicates the message perfectly.
We began by considering colour. The group quickly agreed on red as this symbolises danger, warning and can be clearly seen. We also decided that a triangle similar to that of a road sign was appropriate for the same reasons- although we did explore some rectangular versions since a triangle can be a difficult shape to work with.
We naturally wanted to include the elements of a man running and a door, however this already existed in the current design and we wanted to create something original. We considered using an exclamation mark rather than a man running as this symbolises urgency and warning. Arrows also seemed appropriate as this gives the viewer a sense of the direction they should be heading in. One team member came up with chevron style arrows which we liked the style of.
We created many variations including our elements but we gradually developed thinner chevrons which lay on top of the door illustration. This seemed the easiest to read and understand as well as being visually pleasing.

We began to create our ideas on illustrator as the signs were much easier to visualise rather than as s quick sketch.  The group agreed on a design which contained the triangle within a larger rectangle. This allowed room for text so the message was clear, but it allowed the possibility of using the triangular sign on its own with it being understandable. 

We began to place our favourite designs into the triangle to see which worked best...

Below are the individual triangular signs :

We did experiment with a few fonts but decided the first font we used was the most legible. 

We then agreed on this final design:

I felt that our design worked really well! However, to conclude the session our tutor suggested whether we should have questioned whether the design needed to be redesigned. I personally think it works well purely because its a recognised symbol- the public know what it means because they have seen it before. So perhaps a redesign would not be appropriate.