How I Learned to Stop Getting Lost and Love Tokyo Rail by Ross Howard:

While traveling the Tokyo rail lines, I quickly realized that apart from the obvious use of real-time electronic signage, colored trains, and audio announcements, there were also other techniques being used to assist travelers in knowing where they were, and where they were going. These techniques were subtler, and bordered on subliminal; this was what really interested me. […] I call these cues ambient signifiers: design elements that communicate subtly as part of the environment’s ambiance. Read more