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Object Timeline

1956

  • Work on this object began.

1976

  • Work on this object ended.

2002

  • We acquired this object.

2013

2016

2018

2025

  • You found it!

Poster, Signs That Say Safe Driving...

This is a Poster. It was designed by Paul Rand and made for (as the client) Ford Motor Company. It is dated ca. 1966 and we acquired it in 2002. Its medium is offset lithograph on white paper. It is a part of the Drawings, Prints, and Graphic Design department.

In 1966, Henry Ford II hired Paul Rand to modernize the Ford logo. This poster integrates the updated logo among fifteen traffic signs and the text, “Signs that Say Safe Driving,” visually linking Ford with familiar safety symbols. Though Ford ultimately did not use Rand’s graphic, Rand’s approach illustrates the importance of visibility in signage and branding.

It is credited Gift of Marion S. Rand.

  • Neck collar Necklace
  • molded plastic, mold-blown glass.
  • Museum purchase from Smithsonian Institution Collection Acquisitions Program....
  • 1995-8-7

Our curators have highlighted 6 objects that are related to this one. Here are three of them, selected at random:

  • Moral Machine
  • metal, electronics.
  • Courtesy of MIT Media Lab.
  • MOBILITY.032

Its dimensions are

90.2 x 63.5 cm (35 1/2 x 25 in. )

It is signed

Signature printed in gray script, lower right quadrant: Paul Rand

It is inscribed

Printed in black ink, lower right quadrant: Signs that say Safe Driving...

Cite this object as

Poster, Signs That Say Safe Driving...; Designed by Paul Rand (American, 1914–1996); Client: Ford Motor Company (United States); USA; offset lithograph on white paper; 90.2 x 63.5 cm (35 1/2 x 25 in. ); Gift of Marion S. Rand; 2002-11-9

This object was previously on display as a part of the exhibition Saturated: The Allure and Science of Color.

There are restrictions for re-using this image. For more information, visit the Smithsonian’s Terms of Use page.

For higher resolution or commercial use contact ArtResource.

If you would like to cite this object in a Wikipedia article please use the following template:

<ref name=CH>{{cite web |url=https://www-4.collection.cooperhewitt.org/objects/18695323/ |title=Poster, Signs That Say Safe Driving... |author=Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum |accessdate=11 February 2025 |publisher=Smithsonian Institution}}</ref>