Homework #8: How to Ruin a Great Design

This article explains in depth how even the design of a traffic sign can have strong influences on its audience. It can be damaging to drivers if there are unnecessarily complicated symbols and words that don’t convey their message in a clear manner. Alice Rawsthorn argues crimes against these models because they “deprive us of the joy of great design, by wrecking or replacing it” (How to Ruin a Great Design). The clarity and logic of old traffic signs in Britain are juxtaposed with the new, complicated types of road hazards and traffic management.

This article has expressed the dangers that come about based on poor advertising. I have learnt about the qualities of a bad design but hadn’t ever thought about its effects and consequences on society. A good innovation has the potential to reach people in the masses, which is why it is important for individuals to learn about how the signs and words they read has a very persuasive effect mentally and physically.