The example I have come up with is street signs. They are everywhere, and without them driving would be a lot more dangerous. Yea, there are a lot of signs that do have words on them.. like these:
But there are also not so obvious looking street signs that only show images to get the point across. The interesting part is, a lot of times these signs that only show images are a little bit different in every country.
these ones below were actually done by artists, and were placed all over Europe. How long they were able to stay there is unknown but the point is, the artists decided to design a collection of "street signs" to put out certain messages. 
The one directly above, I don't really understand but the tunnel one is clever in my opinion. Anyway, to show some signs we are more familiar with here in the U.S..
A lot of these signs I have seen before but a lot of them I haven't at all. But just looking at them you can figure them out. Putting them in the right location makes them speak for themselves with no words needed. "These systems of graphic presentation are operational, not merely passive schematic structures. They are active agents for creating meaning, instructions for reading, viewing, comprehending information." (Drucker & Mcgann)
With street signs they are obviously there to convey information in a way that is super easy to comprehend. We don't want people driving and suddenly having to turn their heads and take their eyes off the road to try and figure out what that sign said. Therefore they have to be cleverly designed to be easily processed by the average human being. Basically, street signs are supposed to be incredibly obvious. However if you're in another country and you see a street sign like those artists have made, you will definitely start to think about what the heck that means. They are pictographs to convey information, that we see every day and don't always think too much about.
I never would have considered signs. Which is silly cause--Duh they are in my life daily and they lose something and embodies something else. I don't even read "restroom" anymore or "woman" I just look for the images of the small people. I think this is so clever and I really enjoyed the signs you picked out. Some of which I have never seen but if I saw them I think I could grasp what they were telling me what to do.
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