You’re saying so much that I don’t know what you’re trying to say.

Is your message clear? What if you had to make a simple sign with what you’re trying to say? Could you?

Let’s do a quick analysis of the stickers on the door. Here’s what might have happened:

1. Someone was bored and just stuck them everywhere.
2. They used to have fewer, but people kept coming in, so they added more.
3. The employee was paid by how many stickers he used. He got a bonus.

Probably #2? My experience? I didn’t even notice them. They almost looked like a design. I actually had to go back in through those doors and I noticed that they didn’t open with the sensor, so I waited until someone came out, but I didn’t really “see” the signs.

Please Don’t Pee on the Floor [Kuching Airport, Borneo, Malaysia]

IMHO, a single, larger sign with no (or few) other signs around it. Maybe just one. Maybe with some words under it? But the same thing over and over just turns into a pattern or a design and people might not think that they need to look at it anymore.

It’s like walking down the cereal aisle at the grocery store. There are just so many that you don’t even know where to look anymore. How is something supposed to stand out when there is so much noise, so much activity?

If you’re in control of the scene (so, not at the supermarket, but on your book or your website), how can you calm things down so your message comes through loud and clear? Or at least clear!?

By the way, thank you for not peeing on the floor. In case you didn’t see the sign to the right but are only focused on this text.