kixvixJul 14 2009 9:54 AM
Wow, love this idea. I want to do this too! :)
Sean BuntonJul 14 2009 10:03 AM
Very clever. I\'d like to try this. A good excuse / subject for experimenting.
Sumit PaulJul 14 2009 10:10 AM
I\'ve always wanted to do this. But always thought pasting posters up on walls without any authorization was illegal. This gives me courage!
gabeJul 14 2009 10:18 AM
A cool idea, but I am afraid the missing cat signs (specifically) would backfire. There is a visceral, human urgency in handmade/unprofessional signs asking for help. A stylized presentation would make the average passerby skeptical and therefore less likely to help.
MitchJul 14 2009 11:03 AM
I agreee with Gabe. This is a good example of when good design is bad branding. There are different types of signage. Road signs have a distinct look and font. Advertising is (usually) slick. Missing cat signs are handwritten and communicate their urgency through the speed in which they appear to be made.
MichaelJul 14 2009 11:29 AM
I also agree with gabe and Mitch.Not only would a professional looking design foster cynicism, it would also blend into the background.We are so used to professional posters and flyers in an urban landscape they become easy to ignore.A hand written notice jumps out and makes people take notice.Both because it is an exception to what we are used to seeing, and, as said, because it expresses an urgency that makes us feel it is import to take the effort to stop and read.
emilyJul 14 2009 11:47 AM
Fantastic idea... if only all telegraph pole posters were such masterpieces!!
Rob WeychertJul 14 2009 1:27 PM
This is wonderful. I am pleasantly reminded of Kevin Cornell\'s Design Vigilantism post a few years back.
...and apparently hyperlinks are stripped out of comments. See the Design Vigilantism post here: http://www.bearskinrug.co.uk/_articles/2005/06/27/design_vigilante/
SuspireJul 14 2009 2:18 PM
ha ha ha
Half of the original pieces are easier to read.
Good job dude.Ethan SmithJul 14 2009 5:48 PM
Some great designs indeed, but most are so elaborate and highly decorative that the actual message is not portrayed, and if so, not very clearly. All in all it is a cool concept but like many people have said here before the attention drawing capabilities of the slick posters is not on par with the hand written or simple black & white posters. For various reasons the well thought out designs do not show the importance of the missing cat/dog posters, and the overall contrast on the posters and decorative font types would be hard to read in passing and from a distance.
Matthew DelpradoJul 14 2009 11:52 PM
This is bloody brilliant. I think all typographic designers out there should feel obliged to do this at least once in their life.
Sheldon Nesdale (Marketing Consultant, NZ)Jul 15 2009 2:17 AM
Yes, a passer by is more likely to ignore a slick design, but this isn\'t about the message, it\'s about the graphic designer creating something they are proud of and may win awards for (as is most advertising).
JBJul 15 2009 10:10 AM
Sorry to say, I really think this is pointless. Quite literally, what is the POINT?
I would be skeptical of these on the street if I saw them, thinking they were sponsored by some corporation or trying to get money out of me. So as far as call to action goes, these fail.RobertJul 15 2009 10:12 AM
^^ \"it\'s about the graphic designer creating something they are proud of and may win awards for\"
lolKate K.Jul 15 2009 10:34 AM
i love it--art inspired by your community!
RonJul 15 2009 1:16 PM
Hand-written notes have been proven to increase attention and conversion. The reason is that they have a personal touch. The reader immediately connects with the human behind the note.
I have to agree with some of the comments above.
Beautiful posters, no doubt.
But they probably make the message much less effective:
- unreadable (in a few cases)
- too commercial looking (mistaken for an ad)
- blending in (unnoticeable)
I actually feel bad for the people who wrote the hand-written notes because the designer took down their message and replaced it with something far less effective.Seriously.
Put the photoshop down and back away slowly.
Then maybe pickup a pencil and draw your letters like humans were supposed to.KishJul 15 2009 8:20 PM
Love it!!
I look at everything around me and wish it were like this.
Thank you :)ScottJul 16 2009 3:38 AM
I think this was a great idea/project. Good work.
gluckJul 16 2009 10:43 AM
I think a lot of comments were made with out actually visiting his site. Under the \"odds and ends\" page he himself offers the same questions and concerns commented on here. He is experimenting with how design can \"mend or \"marr\" a message. I have the feeling it is meant to be facetious. So Relax and enjoy it for what it is..
D. jrJul 16 2009 3:27 PM
illegible, illegible, illegible
dalkireJul 17 2009 8:23 AM
@sheldon: \"but it isn\'t about the message\". It is to the person who lost a pet. I agree with Gabe, Mitch, and Michael.
Kyle SteedJul 17 2009 2:13 PM
This is a great project. I love his \"go-getter\" attitude, and the design is easy on the eyes too. Thanks for the tip.
ShannonJul 17 2009 4:13 PM
The designer could\'ve contacted the job-seeker and the seeker of lost pets to offer his services, but instead he made an experiment out of someone else\'s suffering.How hip.
jeffkJul 17 2009 5:54 PM
@JB
Maybe you should check out his website: http://cardoncopy.com/odds.html
He specifically mentions THE POINT(S) is to experiment with the power of the design and what it can do to a message-strengthen or destroy. Does it become \'more or less effective\'? Though the content is word for word the same he\'s demonstrating what a little color, type, and shape can do to a message.jennifer Jul 19 2009 8:04 AM
He\'s done a real disservice to the people who put up the original hand-made posters. If he had asked, that would be one thing...what an ego this guy has!
PmckeeJul 20 2009 10:28 AM
Marshall McLuhan said \"The medium is the message.\" Your artwork is pretty to look at, but the message becomes \"look at me!\" When you allow your work to get in the way of what you are trying to say, you do a disservice to your client and yourself. (You are not supposed to be promoting yourself, your are supposed to be promoting your client\'s message.)
Soda & CandyJul 20 2009 3:28 PM
I think the design work is really average, on top of everything else most people are saying here. Sorry, it\'s a FAIL from me.
Emily RoseJul 23 2009 8:09 PM
at first i got really excited about this.
i do like some of the work BUT most is too illegible for street viewing. and again, it takes away the urgency completely.
i do live above an art gallery that has the worst posters done in Word. this did inspire me to redo them. but i know the people.ixleyJul 23 2009 8:48 PM
I agree - very nice display of typographic ability, but poor examples of redesign. The newer versions are all much \'prettier\', but less legible and overly styled for their messages. Still, I\'m sure the artist was much more interested in them as personal projects, so probably no need to get too critical.
elsJul 27 2009 3:05 PM
Poor Cookie will never be found...the artist transposed the numbers in the phone number. Fail.
OllieAug 2 2009 4:35 PM
For finders of Cookie, please call 917 533 3208. Good spot els.
An interesting choice of project. In terms of what Gabe, Mitch and Michael mentioned, I would have to agree. But I don\'t think the project was about that, or actually was, in a round-about way. From the author\'s site:
\"Is there a loss of trust by filtering a message through the \'design machine\'?\"
Well, is there?triggerAug 6 2009 8:08 PM
I wouldn\'t disregard this idea completely! I think it all depends on what the message is. Missing cat...leave it alone. Actor guy could use better representation, though he didn\'t do the guy any favors with that poster. You can\'t even see the freakin\' phone number.
Good design = good communication
Illegible type = bad communication
Bad communication = bad designnilsAug 9 2009 5:33 PM
I think with missing cats, people are likely to put up multiple signs across town, so the replacing of one poster may not be such a big problem. Great design project, but I do have to say my first thoughts when I saw this echoed the views of Gabe etc.
BelindaAug 26 2009 8:57 PM
I hope those kitties (and other types of pets) get found. :( And I agree with the commenters who say this isn\'t a very good idea.
JoshSep 15 2009 1:49 PM
Those look pretty good, except the \"cleaning lady\" add he made gives me a headache and is almost compeltely illegible. The hand written sign was more effective.
If he if replacing the adds without calling the posters for approval then that is not right. I would be upset if someone took down my clearly written sign and slapped up what \"they thought\" was a more artistic sign without permission.AngFeb 13 2010 8:22 AM
On the cat poster, if you dumped his type treatment in the shield and replaced it with the original posting- then it would be a good mashup of the street vernacular and the slick punch of a trained designer. KIndalike how \"Sorry, we are closed\" signs with the closing times hand written in work in the public space.
There are some real gems of street signage out there. I like that this project challenges me to think about what signs would benefit from being rescued.CJMar 10 2010 9:20 PM
I was checking out there website and they replaced a big bold lost dog poster with something that was almost illegible. I do not like this and I don\'t think the person that made that original sign does either.