Photography — The Beauty of Public Signage

One morning, I was traveling in a Bangalore bus. The bus stopped near an intersection and was waiting for the green traffic signal. When I looked out, this is what I saw.

No Parking

The typographical error as well as somebody’s attempt of correcting it made it interesting. As I was observing, a man came and parked a bicycle full of junk cartons, in front of this ‘PRIVTE NO PARKING’ sign.

I rummaged my bag for the camera. USB cables and NiMH cells flew out of the bag. Others in the bus watched the whole commotion with interest. Finally, I managed to fish out the camera, aimed at the scene and clicked half a dozen times. This is one of them. Click for a slightly larger view.

No Parking sign with a parked bicycle

You can find a lot of public signs with spelling errors. Is there a solution? When are we going to get a real life spell checker?

Very recently, Smashing Magazine conducted ‘The Beauty of Public Signage: Photo Contest.’ The results are out and there are some really interesting photographs there. Check them out!