other countries. They tend to be far more dramatic and less “iconographic.” (If
that’s even a real word.) They have stylized illustrations instead of just
simple icons. They also tend to have a lot more text. Granted, that’s for signs
in places where you’ve generally got time to read them. They haven’t gone
butt-wild and made “WALK” and “DON’T WALK” signs into haiku or
anything.
But they
could!
Let’s take this fairly
common American sign as an
example:
Simple,
to the point, and not a lot of room for confusion. Sure, it’s not as clear as
“If your dog craps here, you need to pick it up,” but it
works.
Now, the Japanese
version:
So
much more eye-catching, isn’t it? This is a sign that makes you stop and take
notice. (And photos.)
“Please, master,
I beg of you!” the dog cries out. “We cannot leave my droppings here in this
park, for it is a place where children come to play, and their place of joy
should not be sullied by my poo! We must get this cleaned up before we
depart!”
Okay, so I totally
made that up – but you know it’s something almost exactly like
that.
What they really oughta do is
make the “after” picture for a second sign in this series. Some poor kid has had
his moment of happiness (one of the few he gets before heading off to cram
school) ruined by stepping in poo and is crying over the perfect day that has
been ruined by some pet owner’s
carelessness.
The dog will be
seen in the background committing
seppuku.