Signage in the city is nothing new, of course. It’s been used for centuries to denote restrictions, instructions, invitations etc. and you’d been forgiven for thinking, given the amount of experience we’ve had, that we had become pretty good at it.

All things being equal, that would be the case however the assumption does not take into account the oddity of human cultures and the differing constructs within the various personal and professional relationships.

The photo shows an advisory poster outside a car park which illustrates that each half hour is charged at £1.50 with what appears to be a maximum length of 2 hours. Rather than simply stating “£1.50 per half hour up to a maximum of 2 hours”, the sign posted as stated the cost of the half hour and further calculated the cost for each additional half hour.

It is a classic example of bureaucratic institance of a notification sign needing to be X by Y measurements without the facility for someone to override the requirement for a simpler, more straightforward message. It could even be argued, the sign failed due to a lack of forethought and oversight. Communication via signage should be defined in its simplicity and clarity.