A Failure to Communicate

Here's a signage failure from my neighborhood (and no, I'm not dropping the "ure" just because everyone else is doing it). What do you think? Do they have emergency services or not?

Your answer depends on whether you notice the red letters "NO" on the red brick background. Yes, red traditionally means "no," but you only have to use your eyes to evaluate how (un)successful this sign is. It was no doubt designed by someone who writes e-mail in all caps when it's VERY IMPORTANT.

There are a lot of popular misconceptions about what's easiest to read or most attention-getting. All-caps, for instance, is generally harder to read and therefore not necessarily a good choice for sentences full of important information. Red is another problem for people. We think it's very attention-getting because it means, No and Stop and Fire, but that doesn't mean that red text is easy to read or that printing on red paper is a good idea either. (Both create a low-contrast situation that is harder to distinguish from a distance or at all for those with poor vision.)

Anway, if you think I'm picky about signage, you should check out the story of the people who painstakingly created the new standard font for U.S. highway signage.