It’s taken me a long time to figure out what’s wrong with this sign, at the Westport Arts Center parking lot on Riverside Avenue.
Finally, I got it. And it’s not 1 problem — it’s 3.
- “Exit” is underlined — but it’s the wrong word. Underlining emphasizes a word — but the word that should be emphasized is not, not “exit.” Underlining “exit” makes drivers who look quickly think it is the exit.
- All the words are the same size. Who will even bother to read this? It needs a good graphic to grab drivers’ attention — a “stop” hand, a red slash, an exclamation point, maybe something bold and italicized!
- What’s with the quotation marks around “danger”? It looks almost mocking — this is “dangerous,” ho ho. All sign makers should be required to take a course in design. And punctuation.