Part of the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem’s draw is its magnificent megafauna, especially its bears. Excited tourists who see grizzly or black bears sometimes pull over to snap photos or even leave their cars, endangering both themselves and the bears. The National Park Service and other agencies have long used signs to warn people away from roadside bears, but little research has been done on whether the messages work and why. Recently, researchers gathered feedback on four prototype signs, using the data to identify three core qualities of effective roadside messages.
“I think, fundamentally, people want to do the right thing,” said Miranda Foster, one of the study’s authors and a graduate student at the University of Montana. “The question was: How can we make (the signs) more powerful and actually reach people?”
Here is what Foster and her co-authors — William Rice at the University of Montana and Jeremy Shellhorn at the University of Kansas — learned from their research.
Design Criteria: Attention
Road signs have only a split second to communicate their message to drivers, so they have to be clear and eye-catching. That means pithy language and a contrasting color palette that makes the text and art pop.
Sign 1 was too text-heavy, while Sign 3 had too many graphics, including an image of a mountain range that cluttered the visual field without contributing to the message. The deep blue text and imagery of Sign 2 stood out against its stark white background, snagging viewers’ attention.
Design Criteria: Authority
A federal agency’s name carries weight. Study participants said they felt compelled to comply when signs name-dropped the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, as Signs 1 and 2 did by including the agency’s logo. Style elements associated with an agency’s brand, such as Sign 1’s brown color scheme and font, also strengthened the sign’s authority by invoking an agency’s professionalism and decades-long heritage.
Overly stylized signs blunted the impact of their own message: Sign 3, for example, had lighthearted elements that, according to one participant, suggested a marketing ploy rather than a command. Participants also disliked tonal embellishments such as idioms and witticisms, preferring more direct and inclusive messages.
Design Criteria: Persuasion
Participants found simple, reader-friendly signs to be the most persuasive. Graphics that illustrated good behavior also swayed viewers: They liked the visual separation between cars and bears in Signs 2 and 3, for example.
The most persuasive signs came off as authoritative but not pushy. Participants found the “you’re not invited” message of Signs 1 and 3 to be aggressive and rude.
USE YOUR NEW DESIGN SKILLS
Now that you know how to evaluate signs like a design pro, test your knowledge: The same group of researchers measured vehicle speeds as drivers passed these five road signs in Grand Teton National Park. Which has the best chance of persuading drivers to stay within the speed limit?
Have you made your guess?
Scroll down to see the correct answer…
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This article appeared in the October 2025 print edition of the magazine with the headline “A good sign.”
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