I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about signs recently. That will come as no great shock, given that they are such an important part of Mole Graphics’ business. These reflections were prompted by a trip to the library to collect a potboiler crime novel. I realised that, depending on which sign you believed, it was either open straight through from 10am to 5pm or, as it turned out, closed for lunch between 1-2pm. I wasn’t the only one left dumbfounded: at the door, a three-year-old boy was trying to persuade his reluctant mum it was worth waiting for ten minutes until the library reopened and the nursery-style singalong - which, from personal experience, invariably features a round of ‘Wheels On The Bus’ - would begin.
I can understand the council wants to save money. Indeed, at other facilities, changing opening times have been written on as piece of paper and stuck on the door. But I do wonder how much revenue Mole Graphics - and, for that matter, the British wide-format industry, has missed out on because of cutbacks in Government spending which have been in place since 2010.
I know that, if we are to give UK Plc an infrastructure fit for the 21st century - or, more realistically, the late 20th century - there are more pressing needs. Decrepit town centres, reliable trains and roads without potholes - let alone sinkholes - all spring to mind. But it does seem perverse that, in an era when we are finally discovering the importance of wayfinding, so many signs are unfit for purpose because they are out of date, inaccurate, or just too scarce. Even ‘Diversion’ signs - which seem like a licence for their printers to print money - are either placed haphazardly or simply peter out as you are redirected into the middle of nowhere.
As election-winning slogans go, “Better signage” is about as big a vote winner as “Let them pick fruit”, but, even though I am saying this out of enlightened self-interest, a modest investment in this guidance would make living - and working - in this country significantly less annoying.