This
well known sign is ridiculed for promoting stereotypes,
or laughed at when it’s the punchline byLatino comics. As a design,
it’s straight to the point. The image of a man, woman, and little girl
with her feet lifted off the ground trying to race across a freeway is
readable when you drive by at 60-70 mpg on freeways leading you in and
out of San Diego County.
The Los Angeles Times profiles John Hood, the Caltrans graphic artist who
designed the complex image that is both a roadside icon and an image for immigration commentary.
Drivers, the state decided, needed to be alerted to the possibility of
migrants running across traffic lanes. There were just a few graphic
artists in the San Diego office; the task fell to Hood. "It was just
part of the job," he says, though he knows it's more complicated than
that.
There were several versions, some stuffed in the envelopes of
residential electric bills, other posted at rest stops. In some, the
characters had eyes and other features; officials felt those would be
too detailed for motorists to discern at high speed. In another, the
mother juggled a baby and a sweater, but that too was deemed overly
complicated for the freeway.
"People are going fast," Hood said. "It had to be simple."
In the end, he thought about family.
It's rare to find out about the thought process behind a graphic design. A good read.
The artist behind an iconic image. [LAT]
