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Walk down any street and you will see a plethora of signs that are all trying to get your attention. Signs are one of the best ways to get your message across and in the modern world where time is of the essence and everything runs on information, signs are even more important. Neon signs, traffic signs, and arbitrary signs all play an important role helping people get around this crazy world that we live in today. They show us where to go, what to do and how to get to where we are going. They control the traffic, give directions, and ensure that everyone is at least following the same rules. Without signs, things would be chaos.
As neon signs can attest, color is an important aspect of any sign. Color has a lot of meaning to various cultures and it is not strange to see similar signs in another country that is painted a different color. Some colors, like red for instance, generally remains the same and can safely be assumed to mean danger as the 'stop' sign can attest. Other colors, however, can become a little tricky and you need to be aware of the cultural connotations of color before taking any sign in a foreign country at face value.
This problem with color is why many signs have specific shapes. Neon signs and traffic signs can come in a wide variety of shapes and sizes. For the most part shapes remain consistent throughout the world. Take the 'stop' sign mentioned above again. Its simple hexagonal shape is clear and easy to understand and most people will recognize it at first glance. Most people generally consider rectangular signs to be of little importance and only contain information if you are looking for it. As soon as a sign has a strange or different shape then people will usually sit up and pay attention.
The information on a sign is obviously also quite important. In neon signs the information is sometimes the sign itself like a neon open sign, for example. On other signs the information needs to be added to the sign for it make sense. The general rule of the simpler the better applies. If a picture can adequately explain what the sign needs to say then there is no reason to use words when a picture will be all that you need. Words can be confusing but a picture can clear and simple no matter where in the world you find yourself.
Signs are an important part of the modern world. Neon signs attract our attention, traffic signs keep us safe, and informative signs tell us where to go. Signs are everywhere and there are more signs down an average city street then you realize until you actually start looking for them. They have become such a part of our world that we start to ignore them. Take a look at them the next time you wander by them and you might be surprised at what you learn.
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