Signs

by Colors Magazine

This book features an amusing collection of signs from around the world. Divided into chapters by type (animals, men, stop, danger, transport, children, toilets, work, no!, etc.), the signs demonstrate how different cultures portray the icons with which we are all so familiar. The diverse selection of photographs is accompanied by texts describing the cultural and social significance of signs. You may even learn things from this book that could save your life the next time you travel!

Genres: Art, Design, Nonfiction, Reference, Photography

192 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published May 1, 2004

Reviews

[Tinkie]

Just a weird thick book about signs. The random facts are.... random, and probably outdated. I don't know why some facts are even in this book, many facts do not have to do anything with the signs. overall, it's just a book about signs I guess. I don't know what I expected.

[Artem Huletski]

Интересная подборка статистики и дорожных знаков со всего мира. Like.

[Chris Little]

So many images to capture the eye, or confuse the mind. Text insertions seem a touch random in a way that adds to the charm.

[Siskiyou-Suzy]

What an odd book. At first I thought it was a study into signs, or signs as art. It is signs as art but it's definitely not a study of signs. The blurbs are rarely about signs (the stop sign blurb was about the sign) but rather are some random information. The way the signs are split up didn't seem super intuitive to me either.

And two of the blurbs weren't great. The first being about how the subterranean is the future. It just made me laugh. There's a lot of misplaced confidence I think. That underground city in Japan does not exist in 2023.

The second blurb was substantially worse as with no warning it just throws you into a visceral discussion of animal abuse/torture. Then it's just over. I did not want to read it but was already reading it before figuring out what was being described! Why was this included? It's so awful.

[Gigi Retzo]

In short: a curiosity. Random anecdotes, random images of signs all over the world. Loosely organized by type (e.g. animals, danger, stop). No other recognizable order or logic behind the photographic choices and aesthetic arrangements. Not uninteresting, but I can’t say who I’d recommend it to. It seems fit for no one in particular. Although, ironically, attention has been given to making it feel inclusive to several communities; having been written in numerous languages. So the target reader must have been considered to some extent. Possibly not long enough though.

[Angie]

Bijna alle Nederlandse bordjes ontdekt!

[RW Press]

The title really says it all. If you have an interest in sign typography and iconography from around the world this is a very interesting book to browse through. It would have been nice to have more of a history of how signs have evolved over the years, and the book does primarily focus on road signs.

[Attila]

Photos of road signs from various countries. That Dutch dog sign had me laughing for minutes. :)

[Ben]

Awesome coffee table book.