Underground Signs is a company in Brooklyn creating customized NYC subway signs. Other products have horned in on the distinctive look of the MTA's designs, including the map, the train line logos, and the neighborhoods serviced. But this is the first I've seen of the option to create a replica from the NYC underground with one's own name, street, etc. (the site allows you to generate a"Create Your Own" image). [more inside]
posted by adamms222 on Nov 11, 2009 - 12 comments

⍾ LI'L MUSHROOM GUY
⎌ LEAP-FROGGIN' O's
☣☮ BIOHAZARDOUS HIPPIE WARNING
∰ THREE VIOLINS SHARING HULA HOOP
☃ Unicode table for you: with sliders to help you whiz through all those characters you didn't even know you had. ☃
⫷ All symbols in the table have links underneath them which lead to active Wikipedia Pages. ⫸
[ previously ① ⓑ ☠, via ]
␄
posted by not_on_display on Aug 31, 2009 - 91 comments

Creative beggars
posted by CunningLinguist on Aug 19, 2009 - 35 comments

Symbolic Gestures. How, exactly, does a simple picture go about telling you, "Be careful here. It's cold, and sometimes ice forms on the roof, and it can fall off, and it can be sharp, and that can hurt you"? Inspired by the upcoming Ken Burns documentary, The National Parks: America's Best Idea, Jesse Smith of The Smart Set examines the pictograph designs that convey important information to park visitors. [more inside]
posted by amyms on Jul 31, 2009 - 35 comments

He lives somewhere in LA, looks like Michael Jackson and Barack Obama, loves rap, chess, nachos, movies and pizza, has some comic books to sell, and wants to meet white, Asian and Latina Ladies with big butts to give him money, be his sex slaves, or just help him with Things. Performance art project or genuine kook?
posted by acb on Jul 16, 2009 - 44 comments

Offensive Tea Party signs
posted by 5imian on Apr 17, 2009 - 191 comments

SIGNS A very cute "simple short film about communication". (SLYT)
posted by Memo on Feb 18, 2009 - 12 comments

"The Journal of Urban Typography is dedicated to the documentation and study of signs, word fragments, and typography created with utilitarian intent in urban environments." [more inside]
posted by camcgee on Feb 1, 2009 - 16 comments

The phenomenon of homemade roadside signage for Obama is not much in evidence on the other side. See also Obama signage and other art at The Obama Art Report, and many individual homemade Obama signs. Neither campaign is, shall we say, overly happy with renegade signage, however.
posted by beagle on Oct 30, 2008 - 40 comments

Hall of Technical Documentation Weirdness [more inside]
posted by sixcolors on Sep 11, 2008 - 20 comments

Signs that point to both a tenuously emerging future, as well as the dusty fingerprints of the neglected past. Brooklyn Signs.
posted by netbros on Aug 30, 2008 - 18 comments

Words of warning: Watch out for squirrels. Keep your kids with you, but don't put them here. And finally, some advice for golfers. (links go to pictures) [more inside]
posted by nospecialfx on Jul 9, 2008 - 24 comments

"Wall Dogs" were sign painters that crafted ads directly on the walls of buildings (in time becoming Ghost Signs, previously posted on Mefi 1, 2, 3) and their craft is not dead.
posted by Brandon Blatcher on Dec 23, 2007 - 6 comments

For Roland Barthes, the Death of the Author came on March 23, 1980, in the form of a car speeding down the Rue des Écoles (perhaps that car has become, like wrestling or detergent, another myth); though the Author is gone, his works--texts--remain; they are about history, about fashion, about love, about chopsticks, but fundamentally, they are about signs--as Barthes, once interviewed, said, "Each of us speaks but a single sentence, which only death can bring to a close"--rapidly approaching the end of his sentence, Barthes thought about living together, but the period would be found on his tombstone: écrivain. [more inside]
posted by nasreddin on Aug 27, 2007 - 19 comments

American Sign Language Flash Video Dictionary is a high quality, free dictionary with a huge number of signs. It includes specialized dictionaries of religious signs, conversational phrases, and ASL for babies. Unfortunately it's not possible to link to specific signs, but if you look inside you'll find words from "Abbreviate" to "Zoom" and phrases such as "I cannot fasten my belt," "has he been neutered?" "I already took a bath," "are you married?" and "I need a better firewall."
posted by alms on Jul 25, 2007 - 17 comments

Idiocratic Design. A look at the signs and logos that litter the world in Idiocracy.
posted by chunking express on Feb 28, 2007 - 53 comments

Warning signs from the future. Things to look out for when you get there.
posted by Brandon Blatcher on Oct 28, 2006 - 33 comments

In Wales, signs are bilingual. Sometimes, they get it very wrong
posted by handee on Aug 17, 2006 - 50 comments

Gender signs. A Flickr set and public group of photos of men's and women's bathroom signs from various places. So far these two are the best. (More info.)
posted by kirkaracha on Mar 2, 2006 - 22 comments

"Photographs of signs that transcend their objectivity to reveal our humanity." Signs of Life, in the grand tradition of "Hey, check out these funny/odd/sad/possibly Photoshopped signs from around the world" sites.
posted by Gator on Jan 17, 2006 - 8 comments

Warning signs ahead. Use caution. Don't be somewhere you shouldn't. No crapping in the woods. I just don't know.
posted by mss on Dec 6, 2005 - 17 comments

A new book, Signs of Life (which I can't find on Amazon yet), features photographs of spoof signs.
See also
posted by Mwongozi on Nov 28, 2005 - 16 comments

Oh... My... God. I can't tell if this is a hoax, but it would seem genuine enough if it weren't so surreal. I mean... advertising. On homeless sign boards. I'm going to go hold my head under the bathwater until I stop struggling, now.
posted by shmegegge on Sep 20, 2005 - 72 comments

Farewell o verse
along the road.
So sad to see
you're out of mode.
posted by billb on Sep 17, 2005 - 19 comments

Post No Bills. At the intersection of life and advertising one may unexpectedly find art, or at least humor. Henry Ho shines a light on it. (42 pages. Or view all thumbnails together)
posted by taz on Jul 29, 2005 - 15 comments

In summertime, the arms that pass near my lit cigarette are bare. A collection of Japanese smoking etiquette signs, some haiku-like, some heart-rending, and some just strange. (via Mimi Smartypants)
posted by Kat Allison on Jul 22, 2005 - 32 comments

"Please don't FUCK the pigeons." You'll never look at signs the same way again.
_{(probably nsfw - but I guess I already blew that...)}
posted by bk on Jul 19, 2005 - 44 comments

The Tell-Tale Heart. As told via highway signs.
posted by _sirmissalot_ on Jul 14, 2005 - 18 comments

The Road Rage Quiz Take this test to gauge your ability to create rage in yourself & others. How do you deal with ragers? Here's two sites which advocate carrying & displaying Signs. This site likes the "Sorry" sign, while this site offers cards of a different nature.
posted by Mack Twain on Jul 1, 2005 - 52 comments

Japanese Warning Signs: Signs. In Japanese. Warning you not to do things.
posted by Secret Life of Gravy on Mar 2, 2005 - 43 comments

The Floating Logos Project .'Floating Logos' is a working title for this project. The images are inspired by signs perched high atop very tall poles in order for people to view them from a very long distance. The poles are digitally removed from the image in order to give the illusion that the signs are disconnected from the ground as they ominously float above us.
posted by Hands of Manos on Dec 17, 2004 - 61 comments

Using the toilet facilities more than twice a day is forbidden. And so it should be. And moving around the office should be prohibited. And don't bring your own stuff to work. Oh yeah - and refurbished elephants. (some of those are links to PDF's). Maintain Silence at all times.
posted by mattr on Nov 12, 2004 - 16 comments

Great Political Yard Signs on the Ohio Lawn of Dischord co-founder/Minor Threat drummer Jeff Nelson. I've always enjoyed his design work, and these are just really cool and worthy of sharing, methinks.
posted by glenwood on Nov 4, 2004 - 10 comments

Beware the death screw. Watch for flying debris. Is it a dream? No, it's the stick figure warning sign gallery.
posted by sharpener on Oct 31, 2004 - 4 comments

These images caused a great debate among my antipodean circle in London whether they are real or have been photoshopped. As far as we can gather it does exist. But it is surreal - and only in the UK surely would something like this be real.
posted by Samuel Farrow on Sep 8, 2004 - 85 comments

Freewayblogger.com When you put a sign on the freeway people will read it until someone takes it down.
posted by srboisvert on Nov 24, 2003 - 56 comments

Church sign generator. Crank out your own roadside platitudes.
posted by ChuqD on Nov 6, 2003 - 49 comments

"Before the invention of modern billboards, sign painters used to paint advertisements and company names directly onto building walls. These gradually fading painted signs are known as ghost signs."
posted by dobbs on Oct 8, 2003 - 28 comments

The Japanese Manhole Art Museum. More art of streets and cities at Ruavista, from Fifties Buenos Aires to Belfast to reverse painted glass signs in Paris, 1900.
More at the Typographic Signage Project; Vancouver's Neon Heritage; Early American Tavern and Inn Signs; and the Emergence of Advertising in America.
posted by plep on Jun 18, 2003 - 3 comments

Bar Signs. Modern Drunkard has posted a handy guide for the alcoholic in us all, a set of gestures to communicate your needs when it's too loud to hear, or just because, as the site says, "when words come out, whiskey can't get in."
posted by jonson on Dec 16, 2002 - 21 comments

Netflix may be driving me crazy with popup ads but I love their service. Where else can you rent L'Avventura, The Seventh Seal, Run Lola Run and Rashomon?

It encourages me to explore more movies, which has led me to several "greatest movies ever" lists. I'm thoroughly hooked and my film snob rating is slowly rising. Is this a good thing? I can't even stand to watch drivel like Signs anymore, and my family is tired of subtitles and refuses to watch No Man's Land with me. Anyone else in this predicament? By the way... has anyone seen a good book about the greatest directors?
posted by kevin123 on Sep 6, 2002 - 57 comments

"Version 1 is always the most elegant, most evocative trailer that is ever created -- and the one that is never released." The New York Times has an interesting look at the process of making movie trailers, with Signs as an example (minor spoilers).
posted by kirkaracha on Aug 5, 2002 - 14 comments

Stick figure warning guy. Catch him giving an oscar worthy performance in this brilliant "truck tailgate with boxes falling" sequence. Plus a bonus: read the stick figure's comments on each shoot! I always wanted to meet the megastar who protects corporate America from law suits.
posted by Why on Apr 13, 2002 - 5 comments

Be careful what font you choose. Everyone deserves a good laugh at least once a day. I'm still laughing.
posted by onegoodmove on Jan 9, 2002 - 48 comments

Make your own custom warning signs with a killer web app that produces surprisingly authentic and official looking signs in sharp, ready to print PDF. Fool your friends and neighbors by warning them of infectious waste. Fun for the whole family [via boingboing]
posted by mathowie on Nov 19, 2001 - 18 comments

Zippy's Pal Bites The Dust Anyone who reads Bill Griffith's Zippy the Pinhead comic strip will instantly recognize the Doggie Diner statue, which was toppled over by high winds on Sunday. Many SF folks love the statue as a kitsch cult icon even without the Zippy association, but I only knew of it through the strip.
posted by briank on Apr 2, 2001 - 7 comments

Orange Cones the Virtual Reality tour!
I haven't laughed this hard for a long time! Make sure you read all of the cone pages.
posted by bytecode on Feb 22, 2001 - 5 comments

Signs, signs, everywhere signs Modern Humorist takes a deeper look into the semiotic nightmare that is Palm Beach County.
posted by Skot on Nov 10, 2000 - 2 comments