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===If in doubt, use [[design]] principles to avoid signs=== | ===If in doubt, use [[design]] principles to avoid signs=== | ||
Most signs — other | Most signs — other those amounting to ''labels'' or imparting ''directions'' — don’t work very well. They imply a failure in the ''[[design]]'' of a [[built environment]]: a well-designed environment no more needs warnings and instructions, than does a well-designed kettle. | ||
If you really can’t have people walking on your grass, build a fence. But if you | The language of [[design]]: [[affordance|affordances]], [[signifier|signifiers]], [[mapping]] and [[feedback]] — {{author|Don Norman}}’s {{br|The Design of Everyday Things}} can tell you what you need to know about these — can help, but your goal should be psychological. If you have designed your space well, then — with the exception of sign''posts'' — it shouldn’t need signs. If the [[desire lines]] run contrary to the design principles of your built environment such that you ''need'' signs warning you off the grass, you have got your design wrong. This is not the punters’ problem: it is ''yours''. Their [[desire lines]] point the way to your mistake. | ||
If you really can’t have people walking on your grass, build a fence. But if you want an unfenced lawn and you expect people to walk around it, ask yourself ''why''. Use a hardier grass seed. | |||
But if you are just being an officious twerp because it is your property and you ''can'', well — don’t. | |||
===Where signs are okay=== | ===Where signs are okay=== | ||
Some signs we won’t mind. They’re ''part'' of the design: they impart vital information where there’s no better way of transmitting it. Signs that help you figure out what you want, and it can’t otherwise be made obvious through [[design]] and [[affordance]]. Maps, menus and street signs, for example: There’s only one way of being sure I’m on Oxford Street, and that’s by erecting a sign saying “Oxford Street”. This is a ''label'', not a ''notice''. You are free to ignore it at will. | |||
Likewise, it is good to know that this is the turn-off for Stansted: the M11 is a long motorway and it has lots of exits, and there’s no easier way of intuitively knowing. Incidentally, the design of Britain’s road signs by Margaret Calvert and Jock Kinneir is a minor triumph of modern design.<ref>[https://designmuseum.org/designers/jock-kinneir-and-margaret-calvert read more here]. And [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pq11dqPh_6Y here].</ref> | |||
And a menu: well how am I supposed to know what’s on your menu without, well, a menu? But here be brief, clear — monosyllabic. | |||
Likewise, where a condition is temporary enough that a redesign of the space is not practicable: So: “closed for maintenance”, or “thank-you for wearing a mask and maintaining social distancing”. | Likewise, where a condition is temporary enough that a redesign of the space is not practicable: So: “closed for maintenance”, or “thank-you for wearing a mask and maintaining social distancing”. | ||