These days we see signs everywhere. Reminds me of that song by Five Man Electrical Band that goes like this “SIGN SIGN EVERYWHERES A SIGN – Blockin’ out the scenery, breakin’ my mind. Do this, don’t do that, can’t you read the sign?” (love that song lol its so old, brings back the memories! I used to hear it on the radio in my dads truck all the time as a kid). However, these days it is a little different as well – some signs serve a critical purpose, while other signs are for fun, but there are still those really idiotic signs out there that you see that just make you think “Really who is this one for?” lol. Today we are going to look at some really clever sign designs, some of them look awesome, most of them are just meant to be hilarious haha. I like to look at the history of said thing a little bit though first, so lets delve.
What is a Sign?
Pretty obvious question but the complete answer might not be so obvious, so wiki help us out
A sign is a representation of an object that implies a connection between itself and its object. A natural sign bears a causal relation to its object—for instance, thunder is a sign of storm. A conventional sign signifies by agreement, as a full stop signifies the end of a sentence. (This is in contrast to a symbol which stands for another thing, as a flag may be a symbol of a nation).
The way a sign signifies is called semiosis which is a topic of semiotics and philosophy of language. How a sign is perceived depends upon what is intended or expressed in the semiotic relationship of:
Signification
Significance (i.e. meaning)
ImportanceThus, for example, people may speak of the significance of events, the signification of characters, the meaning of sentences, or the import of a communication. Different ways of relating signs to their objects are called modes of signification.
Uses of conventional signs are varied. Usually the goal is to elicit a response or simply inform. That can be achieved by marking something, displaying a message (i.e. a notice), drawing attention or presenting evidence of an underlying cause (for instance, medical symptoms signify a disease), performing a bodily gesture, etc.
I have never had to design a sign – but that little bit of information could come in handy if I ever do. If you are like me then when you see signs (perhaps in strange places) you often wonder why they are there, who put them there, what the purpose behind the sign is – I always find those things inspiring and curious to think about. So whatever you are working on, take a look at some of these signs and get inspired (or laugh) – I hope that you Enjoy!
AWESOME Street Fighter Signs!
LOL
What was your favorite sign? Did any make you laugh out loud? Any make you think? Have you seen an awesome sign somewhere that we should know about!? Let us know in the comments below – Thanks for Reading!
You like this? Don’t forget to follow us on twitter @andysowards and like us on facebook @andysowardsfan! We are also on that Google Plus & Pinterest thing.