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Charles Landry appreciates one of our signs

By February 20, 2008 May 28th, 2020 Our Work

We couldn’t resist posting this little reference to some of our work for Kings Park that got a small mention by FORM’S Creative Capital Thinker in Residence, Charles Landry.

An excerpt from the West Australian ‘Why the city that says No needs to learn to say Yes’.

First impressions count as they are also our last. What greeted me on my first walk to the centre of Perth from Mount Street was a system of signs that predominantly said: “No”.

The sign world of Perth treats you as if you were an infant. No access, no entry, no parking, no turning, no standing, no crossing, this area is under surveillance, warning, stop, no pedestrians, do not cross, do not wear this or that, do not make noise, no litter, show your pass, the red sign telling you to stop at the red lights – I thought we got the point already.

I’ve noticed others since, like the four signs in front of the Perth Mint that within 10m say “Pedestrians give way to vehicles” and the huge signs in Scarborough saying, “Area under camera surveillance. Alcohol consumption prohibited in this area, penalties apply”.

It took me a week to see a sign saying “Thank you for visiting Kings Park”.