Graphic designers Jock Kinneir and Margaret Calvert's work is the basis of the orad signs we see in the UK today but no single person invented road signs. The earliest road signs gave information on distance and direction and were in place in Roman time and the Middle Ages. The first international agreement on what road signs should look like and achieve was set at the International Road Congress in Rome in 1908. There are many different colour coding and design systems in operation worldwide. For example, the European system we have today is substantially that agreed in the Vienna convention of 1968. The US and Australia each have their own systems. While colours, shapes and logos are fairly standardized across Europe the UK does have some unique signs. Materials change too along with the growth of new technologies. For example, reflective surfaces and, more recently, the use of flashing light based signs. The UK's current signage system was introduced on 1st January 1965. Britain remains the only part of Europe still using non-metric distance and speed signs.
