Symbolism and Shapes: Road Signs

I'm planning on influencing Cuba for my poster; which will involve

using symbolism to portray Back to The Future. 

To help with idea generation, I'll look at possible meanings of road signs.

Circles: 

Circular road signs give instructions to drivers. If on a blue background, it will be driving instructions such as directions; however if on a white background with a red border, the instructions would be of a warning nature; an example being speed limit signs. 

An exception to these rules is the national speed limit sign, as shown below; which has a diagonal line across the centre. 

In generic symbolism, circles could represent spherical objects in an abstract sense; or could show that something is infinite and continuous.


Triangles: 
Triangular road signs denote warning messages, whether it is a driving hazard such as ice or steep slopes; or a general 'watch out' message for children or pedestrians.

In a generic sense, a triangle could represent the relationship (lines) between three things or people (corners). It is quite an angular shape and so could be associated with dangerous situations in terms of film or imagery.


In my designs: 
Here are a couple of designs I produced using shapes or images which remind me of these road signs. They also take influence from Krasnopolski's simplistic style.

              The lesft-hand image focuses more on Krasnopolski's influence whereas I noticed that this right-hand composition contains elements of these road signs. The image represents the clock tower being struck by lightning from Back To The Future. As I thought this was symbolic enough through simplicity, doing this research has helped me draw new symbolic interpretations.

The circle is an outline of orange, a secondary colour to red and yellow. Road signs like this mean to follow instruction as a warning. This can relate to the film as the situation is if Marty can't channel the lightning, (instruction)  he'd be stuck in the past forever (warning). The circle alone has connotations of speed limits - another relevant point as the key speed limit is 88mph in the film.


This research has been very helpful, as it has increased the abstract and symbolic impact of my designs; which makes it more like the Cuban posters.