ampelmann

i like signs. i like little cultural twists and variations in a sign. this is a pedestrian crossing man in berlin where i was last week. i like the fact he wears a hat and holds his head up in the air. my colleague anne thought he looked like a hamburglar/super mario man mash up. anyway thanks to wikipedia i now know he's called ampelmann, and was created in the 60's by a traffic psychologist called karl Peglau who theorised that people would respond better to traffic signals presented by a friendly character instead of meaningless coloured lights. I like Karl's thinking.

Comments

[dan burgess]

nice one Alix. i shall join.

[Alix]

I like the ampelmann a lot, I have a small flickr group for it, should you wish to contribute :)

http://www.flickr.com/groups/ampelmannchen/