It's a Dead End

October 16, 2004

Dead End SignBack in April I talked about differences in road signs between Europe and USA. I managed to pick up an example during my summer vacation. On the left there's the American sign for a dead end street — it's a perfect example of a symbolic sign consisting only of the text “DEAD END”.Danish Dead End Sign

On the opposite side there is the Danish equivalent, picked up in central Aalborg on a day much sunnier than today. I'm sure it's thought as an iconic sign, but this sign shows the danger of a bad icon. In my opinion the Danish sign lacks the ambiguity which is the strength of an iconic sign. Is it a dead end or a ddangerous intersection ahead?

For once I actually favour the symbolic sign.

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This is the personal website of Andreas Haugstrup Pedersen: commentary on media, communi­cation, culture and technology. Read more»