My wife and I recently visited Portugal and one of the most
distinct things I noticed was a lack of signs. Of course, there were speed
limit signs and no parking signs, but advertising, business signs, and
informational signs were really scarce or understated. Looking for a restroom
in the restaurant? Don’t expect six-inch letters RESTROOMS->. No, there
will be a small W.C. in two in letters
on a door or just small indistinct silhouettes of a man and woman. The business
signs are generally not big billboards but just simple plaques beside the door
of entry. Of course, the Pharmacies have their green neon crosses but those
were about the most visual I see.
Not only are business signs understated, the country also
lacks instructional signs telling people what to do or what not to do. I got a
parking ticket because I didn’t know that the parking area I parked in was a
Paid Parking area. The ticket writer showed me the little kiosk where I was
supposed to pay, but there was no help for an ignorant tourist like me to find
it and obvious American-style Paid Parking sign at each stall. I figured out
the system after that and didn’t need a sign to know if I was in Paid Parking
or not.
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| “Oh crap, I was going to climb up in that dumpster and take a nap, but this dumpster doesn’t allow that. I Guess I’ll move along and find one that allows occupants.” |
It was when I came home, however that I really saw how sign crazy
we American’s are. Everywhere we go it seems we are getting derections. No need
to reason or problem solve just follow the signs. THIS FIRE MAY BE HOT type
signs really drive me crazy. This reached it’s zenith with me at the Seward
Boat Harbor when I saw a dumpster with clear blue letters: DO NOT OCCUPY. Now this
is a five foot high metal box with a plastic lid of a shape that most people would
recognize as a dumpster and no one would confuse with a hotel room, cabin, or
campervan. Who needs to be told not to occupy a dumpster? AND, do we really think
anyone who would want to “occupy” a dumpster would be deterred by a warning
sign?
The ubiquitous Use Other Door sign is useful except
that I won’t read it until I’ve tried to open a locked door. Then I look down
and see, Use other Door! These signs should be positioned on a post to
be read before reaching the door. But
then I would probably just push it aside while complaining about someone
leaving this post in front of the doorway.
I think we have so many signs in our culture because we are at once, bossy and helpful. We all seem to enjoy correcting people’s behavior, and we
love to help by giving direction to others who may need guidance. But signs
often don’t communicate accurately, effectively, or without conflicts of logic.
Unfortunately, this easily goes from pushy to silly like the pole in an
Anchorage neighborhood that has one sign that reads Visitor Parking and below
it another sign that reads No parking, Fire Lane. Did no one
installing those signs think for just a minute? I hope he/she loved the irony
and walked away laughing.
Unfortunately, we seem to be sign dependent, and in
Portugal, I was constantly seeking sign guidance. “Why don’t the have a sign
here that says . . .?” so I don’t have to guess. But even signs posted were
often ignored. We walked an extra hundred yards to a monument in Sagres,
Portugal because the road in front of the monument was clearly marked (a rare
thing) with no parking signs. When we came out two hours later, that clearly
marked road was lined with parked cars. It occurs to me then that the
Portuguese aren’t so different from us after all. The culture has merely
adapted to the fact that most people will ignore signs that ask them to do what
they don’t want to whether it’s to park where they don’t want to occupy a
dumpster. I think the Portuguese just quit putting us signs that people will ignore
or don’t need, and that does make the world a lot easier to look at.
