March 8, 2011 – International vs American Signage

This is a photo comparison of Street Signs. The photo on the left I took while visiting George Town, in the Cayman Islands. The one on the right is from Google search, but represents the typical American street sign for “No Left Turn”. I found the sign in George Town strange upon first glance – I had no idea their street signs were different from ours! Honestly, though to me it looks like a sign for “No Boomerangs”.

The photo on the left I took in at the Panama Canal, in Colon, Panama. The one on the right is again a Google photo representing the typical American “No Smoking” sign. While I have seen many “No Smoking” signs in America that have a slight variation in the depiction of the smoke, in terms of shape, I had never seen a sign that depicted a cigarette in an artistic way as opposed to an iconic way (as in America).
Interesting observation Stefanie! If America adopted the circular shape of the “no left turn” sign it would save $$ and natural resources by using less metal. I assume it would also stand up better to high winds?? Hmmmmmm . . . .