The problem with that advertisement is the use of the STOP sign from transit. If we apply transit logic, the first meaning that comes to mind is that we have to stop advancing into the construction place because there are bedbugs. Another interpretation would be that the bed bugs have to stop right where the sign is, but that doesn’t make any sense.
Also, the name ‘bed bug king’ sounds a bit paradoxical. The king of bed bugs sounds like a giant bed bug, or the leader of a bed bug colony. That’s not what we would want.
Improvements: First, remove the transit style for the STOP word. Also, ‘Stop THE bed bugs might make more sense’. A better approach would be to change the word STOP by a more specific one, like KILL or EXTERMINATE. In that case, another sign could be used, like the biohazard or radioactive one.
The problem I had here is that at first I read ‘LESS FURNITURE’. Besides that not making sense, it kind of gives the opposite impression. Who would want to go to a furniture store that says that they have less than… normal?
Improvements: Remove the ‘s from the sign. Alternatively, the letters could be colored in a way that it’s clear it says Lee’s. Maybe coloring the two ‘e’?
Here I simply don’t understand the meaning of the top rounded sign. Now that I think of it, it may be addressed towards car drivers, and saying that they should not park there. But it took me a long time. At first I thought it was directed towards people waiting for the bus, and that simply didn’t make any sense! One actually has to wait for the bus STANDING next to the sign. And what’s the meaning of the two-headed arrow? It spans the width of the bus, but what’s important is the length of the bus, not the width.
Solutions: If the sign is actually directed towards car drivers, add a car in the sign. Also, the arrows should change to denote bus length, not width. If the sign is really directed towards bus users, I have no idea because I simply can’t understand the message.
The problem with the sign is its advertisements. More precisely, the size of them. Every sign has the same size, so it is really hard to know what’s that place about. I guess the ‘main’ sign (the place’s name) is the one in the middle, ‘Bushwick Country Club’. If I lived in Bushwick it could be more easily deduced from context, but this is in Williambsurg. Besides, what is a Country Club in a small space like that in a completely urban area?
Solutions: The name of the place should easily be recognizable! Make it bigger, or make the other advertisements smaller.
The picture was taken at night and not so close of the sign, sorry for the bad quality. I found it in the middle of the boulevard with cars coming in both directions, and I didn’t want to stand in the middle of the street. Anyway, what caught my attention in the picture are the two small yellow signs below the bigger one. That’s because they don’t have any image or text, so I don’t know how to interpret them. What are they there for? I think it puzzles drivers more than giving any insight.
Solutions: Remove the yellow signs, or put some text and/or image into them.
