Signs Everywhere

Employing icons to succinctly convey essential information and capabilities, and to heighten enjoyment of activities

The early '70s hit Signs by Five Man Electric Band was inspired by the writer’s dismay during a Route 66 trip about scenery blocked by advertisements and reprimands. Well, this post aspires not to bury signs but to praise them. Done the right way, compact signage clarifies directions and points out local highlights that might otherwise be missed. Well informed travellers can better enjoy the journey.

Enhancing journeys is very much what There.App is about. Our software is for live activities that may be novel, in unfamiliar places, emphasizing quality time together, perhaps with people just met. Like a good sign, we aim to simply inform and promptly return attention to these experiences. An informative icon can bring focus back to the real world faster than a bunch of reading and link clicking. Such considerate efficiency is consistent with wayfinding themes which is why that's our design inspiration. In tribute to this, There.App icons represent physical signs of various sorts wherever possible.

The There.App Places module icon is in familiar shape of signs announcing addresses or names of properties outside of buildings or campuses – rectangular with a curvy bump on top; and the icon for a person to tell teammates first name or nickname to be called evokes the “Hi I’m…” stickers laid out with sharpies at the entrance to gatherings; and for Featured Items pinned to to of a project's Home module we emulate the marquees outside movie theaters that promote what's playing inside. In the real world these are all compact presentations of just enough information about what's there, very fitting for our software. We have some fun with it – project timeline is symbolized by start / finish line banners in races. People gain fluency on what these icons represent, get efficient with There.App, and in turn have even more attention for what's happening around them to enjoy what they're physically doing, and also enjoy lean use of our software.