Stewards of parks and wild lands would do well to understand the term “typography as image” and to employ it in practice, according to the results of a new study of how trailside signs influence users’ behavior.
Stewards of parks and wild lands would do well to understand the term “typography as image” and to employ it in practice, according to the results of a new study of how trailside signs influence users’ behavior.
The design strategy combines the two qualities most desired by those who wish to send messages like “leash your dog” or “wipe your feet to prevent invasive plants spreading”—it grabs the attention, which then gives the communicator a chance to provide more information to answer the “why” question in related text and images.
These qualities of “attention capture” and “elaboration” were among the factors considered in a new paper that will be published in the June edition of the Journal of Outdoor Recreation and Tourism. A pre-publication copy of the paper went online in January.
The article is titled “The impact of graphic design on attention capture and behavior among outdoor recreationists: Results from an exploratory persuasive signage experiment.” It is credited to Jeremy Shellhorn, an associate professor in the University of Kansas School of Architecture & Design, and William Rice, assistant professor of Outdoor Recreation and Wildland Management in the Parks, Tourism and Recreation Program and Department of Society and Conservation at the University of Montana. They worked with students who helped carry out the experiment over the summer of 2022.
The paper is the result of the latest iteration of Shellhorn’s Design Outside Studio, in which he takes students camping each summer to execute a project that will benefit the public while it offers the students hands-on training.
