Headphone News

This was done by someone's graphic artist friend, who has apparently never seen a logo or sign of any kind before. Maybe one time he or she overheard someone else saying, 'Hey, so this one time I saw a sign and it was a geometric shape with some words,' and the only words that leaked into the graphic artist's head were 'geometric shape' and 'words.'

Now, any icon, logo, or sign has to convey its meaning quickly and intuitively. The best logos are simple, distinct, and convey their message at a passing glance.

The logo above is bad for a few reasons.
 

1. Way too busy. There are a lot of basic shapes in this picture, and they don't automatically congeal into a face, let alone the face of a headphone wearer. This text is all askew, there's a lot of overlapping lines, shapes, and colors... even the face in the middle looks astonished at this RGB-splashed mess. This logo is far more complicated than it needs to be. We're guessing a few runners will glance at it, determine it's too confusing to be important, and immediately lose interest.

2. Curvy words. Most road signs are just a shape with some sort of basic symbol or one syllable word on them, because simple pictures can describe, at a glance, a lot of information. Reading long words takes a lot more concentration, especially when you're moving and double-especially when most of the words are upside-down. The 'No Headphones' at the top is fine, albeit nowhere near as eye-catching as the colored-in part of the sign (which will be discussed later). It might be a bit better if  there were only two 'No Headphones' lines that curved around the sign, because then both would be right-side up and read from left to right. As it is, the 'No Headphones' ring is just a confusing border for the meat of the sign. Finally, we have to ask: if you're going to encompass a gaudy icon with text that explains the icon's meaning, then why not just skip the whole icon in the first place and write out 'No Headphones' in plain text?

3. Way too many colors. The colors in no way help the sign portray its message, and actually draw the eye away from the one part that does: the 'No Headphones' text. Typical signs are one or two colors. Three, is pushing it, but allowed. Simple coloration makes it easy for people to pick actual, meaningful signs out from nonessential ones, like advertisements or a company logo. Chances are most people will catch this mess of color out of the corner of their eye and immediately disregard it as some Marathoner's Association crest or a manufacturing mistake. The average person will have to stare at it for quite some time while their cognitive processes first determine what it's supposed to mean, then figure out why someone used such a colorful monstrosity to say 'No Headphones' instead of just plain, non-curved text. Perhaps the colors are meant to elicit a primal fear, like when a poison dart frog leaps out at you dressed in early 90s roller-blading garb. The only immediate statement this sign makes is, 'What am I?'

4. Headphones aren't even the main focus. Look at this picture. Do you immediately see the headphones, or do you see a horrified expression with bulging, blue, pupil-less eyes and a gaping blood-red maw? When we first looked at this, we thought it was some MS Paint minimalism or a Paul Frank monkey, neither of which are known for conveying important safety messages. Even if you're more astute than we are, and you see it as a face wearing headphones, the sign's message seems to be, 'Do not get surprised while wearing headphones.' In all honesty, this is probably a better message. Maybe people wearing headphones will take heed and be more cautious with their drunken veering. At the very least the headphones could've been a bit bigger. The only clear indicator of this sign's intent is the partially upside-down text, which, as we've said before, is nowhere near as eye-catching as the Rorschach rainbow at the sign's center. 

Our question is, if the only message you're trying to portray is 'No headphones,' why not just go for a really basic symbol inspired by road signage?

Example:
 

 

Look at that. The sign is like a reassuring pat on the back. It's ok: no one is wearing headphones. You're safe here.

As always, if you have a story about how joggers with headphones routinely veer into you, knock you over with a full-on tackle, then run in place on your face for some 30 minutes before they even realize you're there, then please, send us your story. This is how the healing process begins.